Wearable devices such as eyewear customized to individual wearer parameters

ABSTRACT

Features are disclosed relating to an article such as eyewear customized to individual wearer parameters (e.g., measurements, preferences, etc.), and to systems and methods for customizing eyewear to individual wearer parameters. The system includes an input for receiving data representative of a three dimensional configuration of a portion of a wearer&#39;s face and an input for receiving data representative of a desired position where the wearer would like an eyewear frame to reside on the wearer&#39;s face. One system also includes a processor for determining a change in configuration of an eyewear component blank to allow the eyewear frame to reside in the desired position, and an eyewear component modifier for modifying the eyewear component blank so that the frame will reside in the desired position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/561,494, filed Sep. 25, 2017, which is a national phase ofInternational Application No. PCT/US2016/030227, designating the UnitedStates, having an international filing date of Apr. 29, 2016, whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/155,369, filed onApr. 30, 2015, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated byreference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND Field

This disclosure relates generally to wearable devices, including headmounted devices such as eyewear, customized for individual wearers, andto systems and methods for creating wearable devices customized forindividual wearers.

Description of Related Art

Eyewear, such as spectacles, sunglasses, goggles, and the like, includesvarious structural components, such as: one or more lenses to conveylight; earstems or headbands to secure the eyewear to the heads ofwearers; nosepieces or faceplates to position the eyewear correctly onthe wearers' faces; etc. Certain types of eyewear may be customized forindividual wearers. For example, some eyewear may be adjusted for aparticular wear via adjustments to the lenses (e.g., selection ofprescription lenses), earstems (e.g., adjustments to flexible orre-orientable earstems), nosepieces (adjustments to flexible orre-orientable nosepieces), etc.

SUMMARY

Example embodiments described herein have several features, no singleone of which is indispensable or solely responsible for their desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of the claims, some of theadvantageous features will now be summarized.

Some embodiments provide a system for customizing eyewear, including aninput for receiving first data representative of a three dimensionalconfiguration of a portion of a wearer's face, an input for receivingsecond data representative of a wearer preference regarding a desiredposition at which an eyewear frame is to reside with respect to thewearer's face, a processor for determining a change to at least aportion of an eyewear frame based at least partly on the first data andthe second data, the change allowing the eyewear frame to residesubstantially in the desired position, and an eyewear modifier formodifying the portion of the eyewear frame so that the eyewear framewill reside substantially in the desired position.

In some embodiments, the input for receiving first data includes anelectrical connector, a wireless link, and/or a camera array. In someembodiments, the first data representative of the three dimensionalconfiguration of the portion of the wearer's face includes dataregarding a tear duct location, an eye corner location, a pupillocation, a brow location, an ear location, a nasion location, adistance between eyes, a surface contour of a nose, a surface contour ofa cheek, an eye plane, a vertical center plane, a nasion plane, and/or arearward nasion plane. In some embodiments, the second datarepresentative of the wearer preference includes data regarding alocation of a portion of the eyewear frame with respect to a facialstructure of the wearer, a degree of pantoscopic tilt of a lens, and/oran amount of wrap of a lens. In some embodiments, the second datarepresentative of the wearer preference includes data regarding amaterial of the eyewear frame, a pressure exerted by an earstem on thewearer's head, and/or a size of a portion of the eyewear frame. In someembodiments, determining the change includes selecting a modularcomponent, for installation in a portion of the eyewear frame, from aplurality of modular components configured to be installed in theportion of the eyewear frame. In some embodiments, the modular componentincludes a modular nosepad, a modular nosepiece, a modular earstem, amodular orbital, a modular bridge, and/or a modular component comprisinga nosepiece and a bridge. In some embodiments, modifying the portion ofthe eyewear frame includes installing the modular component. In someembodiments, the portion of the eyewear frame includes an integralportion of the eyewear frame. In some embodiments, modifying the portionof the eyewear frame includes removing material from the portion of theeyewear frame. In some embodiments, modifying the portion of the eyewearframe includes adding material to the portion of the eyewear frame. Insome embodiments, determining the change to the portion of the eyewearframe includes determining, based at least partly on third datarepresentative of a three-dimensional configuration of the eyewearframe, a range of measurements within which the portion of the eyewearframe is permitted to be modified, determining that modifying theportion of the eyewear frame to correspond to a measurement within therange of measurements will cause, at least in part, the eyewear frame toreside substantially in the desired position, and determining a changeto the portion of the eyewear frame that will cause the portion of theeyewear frame to correspond to the measurement. In some embodiments, thesystem determines that the change to the portion of the eyewear framewill not cause any portion of the eyewear frame to reside within athreshold distance of at least one of: a tear duct, a brow, and a cheek.In some embodiments, at least a portion of a three-dimensional model ofthe eyewear frame is deflected, with respect to a default configurationan undeflected state, when the three-dimensional model of the eyewearframe is placed in an as-worn configuration on a three-dimensional modelof the wearer, and deflection to at least the portion of the threedimensional model of the eyewear is reversed, subsequent to determiningthe change, to generate a customized eyewear model in an undeflectedstate. In some embodiments, the customized eyewear model includes a lenshaving an optical centerline, and a deflection causes, at least in part,the optical centerline to move from a first orientation that isnon-parallel with respect to a calculated straight-ahead line of sightof the wearer to a second orientation that is substantially parallel tothe calculated straight ahead line of sight of the wearer.

Some embodiments provide a method of making customized eyewear,including obtaining a first data set representative of a threedimensional configuration of a portion of a wearer's face, obtaining asecond data representative of a wearer preference regarding a desiredposition at which eyewear is to reside on the wearer's face, determininga change in configuration of at least a portion of the eyewear based atleast partly on the first data and the second data, the change allowingthe eyewear to reside in the desired position, and modifying the portionof the eyewear so that the eyewear will reside in the desired position.

In some embodiments, obtaining the first data set includes obtainingdata captured as photographic images of the wearer. In some embodiments,determining the change includes determining a positive or negativevariance between the nose region and the three dimensional configurationof the portion of the wearer's face to position the eyewear in thedesired position. In some embodiments, modifying the portion of theeyewear includes removing material from the nose region. In someembodiments, modifying the portion of the eyewear comprises addingmaterial to the nose region. In some embodiments, modifying the portionof the eyewear comprises adding a nosepiece subassembly to the eyewear.In some embodiments, the eyewear includes an eyeglass. In someembodiments, the eyewear includes a goggle.

Some embodiments provide a three dimensional orientationally correctedeyeglass including a frame, at least one lens, a left earstem, a rightearstem, and a nonadjustable nosepiece, wherein the nosepiece comprisesbilateral asymmetry configured to complement a bilateral asymmetry of awearer's face, to position the eyeglass in a preselected orientationwith respect to the wearer's face.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the eyeglass conforms to asurface of a wearer model representative of a three-dimensionalconfiguration of at least a portion of the wearer's head. In someembodiments, the wearer model defines a calculated straight-ahead lineof sight crossing the center of a pupil and extending in ananterior-posterior direction along a horizontal plane parallel to thewearer model's central transverse plane, and at least a portion of aneyeglass model representative of a three-dimensional configuration ofthe eyeglass is deflected, with respect to a default configuration, whenthe eyeglass model is placed in an as-worn configuration on the wearermodel such that the optical centerline of the lens is substantiallyparallel to the calculated straight ahead line of sight.

Some embodiments provide a nosepiece for eyeglasses, the nosepiecehaving left and right dermal contact surfaces having a total dermalcontact surface area, wherein at least 85% of the total dermal contactsurface area conforms to the three dimensional configuration of acorresponding surface of a wearer's nose. In some embodiments, at least95% of the total dermal contact surface area conforms to the threedimensional configuration of the corresponding surface of the wearer'snose.

Some embodiments provide non-transitory computer-readable storagestoring executable instructions that, when executed by a computingsystem, cause the computing system to perform a process includingobtaining a data set representative of a three dimensional configurationof a portion of a wearer's body, obtaining a data set representative ofa wearer preference regarding a desired position at which the wearabledevice is to reside on the wearer's body, determining a change in aconfiguration of a surface on the wearable device that brings thesurface of the wearable device into conformity with the data setrepresentative of the three dimensional configuration of the portion ofthe wearer's body, and modifying the surface on the wearable device tocause the wearable device to conform to the data set representative ofthe three dimensional configuration of the portion of the wearer's bodyin the desired position.

In some embodiments, the wearable device includes a head worn device. Insome embodiments, the wearable device includes a helmet. In someembodiments, the wearable device includes an eyeglass. In someembodiments, the wearable device includes a goggle. In some embodiments,the nosepiece includes the surface. In some embodiments, modifying thesurface includes selecting a modular nosepiece from a plurality ofmodular nosepieces, and installing the modular nosepiece

Some embodiments provide an eyeglass including a frame, a first lenshaving a first optical centerline, and a second lens having a secondoptical centerline, wherein the first optical centerline and the secondoptical centerline form an angle of at least 2 degrees when the eyeglassis in an undeflected state.

In some embodiments, the first optical centerline and the second opticalcenterline form an angle of at least 15 degrees when the eyeglass is inan undeflected state. In some embodiments, a wearer model correspondingto a three dimensional model of at least a portion of a wearer's headdefines a calculated straight ahead line of sight which crosses a centerof a pupil and extends in an anterior posterior direction along ahorizontal plane parallel to the wearer model's central transverseplane, and the first optical centerline is substantially parallel to thecalculated straight ahead line of sight when a three dimensionalconfiguration of the eyeglass is positioned in an as -worn orientationconfiguration on the wearer model. In some embodiments, the angle formedby the first optical centerline and the second optical centerline isreduced by at least 50% in the as-worn configuration as compared to theundeflected state. In some embodiments, the angle formed by the firstoptical centerline and the second optical centerline is reduced by atleast 90% in the as-worn configuration as compared to the undeflectedstate.

Some embodiments provide an eyeglass including a frame and at least onelens having at least a first power and a second power, wherein a wearermodel corresponding to a three dimensional model of at least a portionof a wearer's head defines at least a first line of sight correspondingto the first power and a second line of sight corresponding to thesecond power, and wherein the at least one lens is configured such thatthe first line of sight is aligned with a first portion of the lenscorresponding to the first power and the second line of sight is alignedwith a second portion of the lens corresponding to the second power whena three dimensional configuration of the eyeglass is positioned in anas-worn orientation on the wearer model. In some embodiments, the atleast one lens includes a progressive lens power transition corridorextending between the first portion and the second portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicatecorrespondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided toillustrate example embodiments described herein and are not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for generatingcustomized eyewear or components thereof according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an eyewear customization system according to someembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for generating athree-dimensional model of customizable eyewear according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show illustrative three-dimensional models ofcustomizable eyeglasses according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show illustrative three-dimensional models ofcustomizable goggles according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for generating athree-dimensional model of a wearer's head according to someembodiments.

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative scanning apparatus according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show illustrative three-dimensional scans of a wearer'shead with and without a reference device according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show illustrative three-dimensional scans of a wearer'shead according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show illustrative three-dimensional scans of awearer's head including eyewear position data according to someembodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for generatingcustomized eyewear or components thereof according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show alignment of a three-dimensional model ofcustomizable eyewear to a three-dimensional model of a wearer's headaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 shows positioning of a three-dimensional model of customizableeyewear to a three-dimensional model of a wearer's head according tosome embodiments.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C show customization of a three-dimensional modelof customizable eyeglasses according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 15A, 15B, 15C, and 15D show customization of a three-dimensionalmodel of customizable eyeglasses according to some embodiments.

FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a lens blank conforming to a portionof the surface of a sphere, showing a lens profile to be cut from theblank in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 16B is a perspective cutaway view of the hollow, tapered wallspherical shape, lens blank, and lens of FIG. 16A.

FIG. 17A is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a lens constructed inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 17B is a vertical cross-sectional view of a lens constructed inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 18 is a top plan view of the lens of FIGS. 17A and 17B showing ahigh wrap in relation to a wearer.

FIGS. 19A-19C are right side elevational views of lenses of variousconfigurations and orientations relative to a wearer.

FIG. 19A illustrates the profile of a properly configured and orientedlens for use in an eyeglass having downward rake, in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 19B illustrates the profile of a centrally oriented lens with norake.

FIG. 19C illustrates a lens exhibiting downward rake but which is notconfigured and oriented to minimize prismatic distortion for thestraight ahead line of sight.

FIGS. 20A and 20B schematically illustrate the projection of the lenshorizontal and vertical profiles from a desired orientation within aneyewear frame to the lens blank, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate eyewear in a default non-stressedconfiguration and in an as-worn stressed configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure is directed to wearable devices which include atleast one component or surface customized to complement an adjacentstructure or surface of the wearer's body, in the as-worn orientation.The inventions will be disclosed primarily using the example of headworn devices such as eyewear, customized for individual wearers, and tosystems and methods for creating eyewear customized for individualwearers. Three-dimensional (“3D”) computer models of eyewear (e.g.,prescription glasses, sunglasses, goggles, and the like) may begenerated such that individual components of the eyewear, or the eyewearas a whole, may be customized or selected according to the parameters ofindividual wearers.

For example, a 3D model of eyewear may be generated and the model maydefine a range of measurements within which a particular component, suchas a nosepiece, may be customized. The customizations may be madeaccording to the facial structures and other features of an individualwearer. The measurements and/or other manufacturing parameters of thenosepiece (or other component) may be determined for a particular wearerby manipulating the 3D model of the eyewear with respect to a 3D modelof the wearer's head. In this way, a nosepiece may be created orselected (or the eyewear may be otherwise customized) so the lens orlenses of the eyewear are at an optimal or desired location andorientation with respect to the wearer's line of sight, the frame of theeyewear sits at an optimal or desired location and orientation withrespect to the wearer's facial structures, etc.

Customization may be accomplished to achieve any of a variety ofobjectives, including increasing or decreasing pantoscopic tilt,increasing or decreasing a degree of wrap, accommodating a desired basecurve lens, increasing or decreasing the vertex distance or ventilationspacing, raising or lowering the lens in the vertical relative to thewearer's straight ahead line of sight, leveling the horizontal meridianof the eyewear such as to correct for tilting which might result from awearer's nose structure or dissimilar ear height, and preciselycontrolling contact between the eyewear and the wearer.

The foregoing customizations may be accomplished by, e.g.: configurationof the wearer contacting surfaces of the nosepiece; increasing ordecreasing the horizontal separation or angular relationship betweenopposing nose pads; elevating or lowering the nosepiece relative to theupper frame or upper lens edge; selecting a particular nosepiece from aset of pre-configured nosepieces, selecting a particular set of nosepadsor individual left/right nosepads from a set of pre-configured nosepads,curving one or both earstems in the vertical or inclining one or bothearstems in the vertical such as to level the eyewear on the wearer'sface; curving one or both earstems in the horizontal or spacing theposterior portions of the earstems in the horizontal to account fordifferent cranial geometries or wearer preferences; lengthening orshortening one or both earstems, selecting a particular earstem or pairof earstems from a set of pre-configured earstems, etc. For example,inclination of the earstem may be accomplished in either an up or downdirection by providing a preformed bend in the earstem, or changing thelaunch angle at the hinge where the earstem connects to an orbital orother component of an eyeglass. The latter may be accomplished byproviding a custom hinge, or by modifying the hinge attachment surfaceof the corresponding orbital, frame, lens or anterior hinge attachmentsurface on the earstem, depending upon the eyeglass configuration anddesired result. In the example of customization to achieve leveling ofthe eyewear in the horizontal, the earstems will normally exhibitbilateral asymmetry in the vertical such that the posterior portion ofthe earstem that contacts the attachment point between the outer ear andthe scalp will be vertically higher on one earstem than the other in theas-constructed configuration (i.e., without the need for a postmanufacturing bending step). In the example of curving one or bothearstems in the horizontal or otherwise spacing the posterior portionsof the earstems in the horizontal, the distance between the posteriorportions of the left and right earstems may be preset to correspond tothe distance between the respective left and right attachment points ofthe wearer in the as-constructed configuration (e.g., the left and rightattachment points between the scalp and the left and right ears,respectively, of the wearer). Alternatively, one or both earstems may becurved to exert a desired pressure on the respective left and rightattachment points of the wearer in the as-worn configuration.

Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to generating eyewear, orindividual components thereof, that conform to the dimensions, surfacecontours, and/or other features of a particular wearer's head withoutrequiring manual adjustments or trial-and-error processes. In someembodiments, a component of eyewear may be manufactured using anadditive process, such as 3D printing. For example, a nosepiece may becreated from scratch, or the nosepiece may be created through additionof material to a base component, a structure that facilitates attachmentwith an eyewear frame, etc. In other embodiments, a component of eyewearmay be manufactured using a subtractive process. For example, a basecomponent that corresponds to the maximum dimensions of a nosepiece maybe used as a starting point from which material is removed to achievethe desired customizations. In some embodiments, a component of eyewearmay be created using a customized mold. For example, an injection moldor mold insert may be customized or produced (e.g., 3D printed). Such acustomized injection mold may be used to create a limited number ofcustom-made injection molded components. In some embodiments, the threedimensional data described herein enables selection of a best fitcomponent or eyeglass subassembly from an array of preformed stock parts(e.g., an array of up to about 5 different versions, up to about 10different versions, up to about 20 different versions, etc. of aparticular component), to construct a best fit eyewear without the needfor true customization at the component level. Regardless of whether theeyewear or component is created using one of the aforementionedprocesses or using some other process, the end product component such asa nosepiece may be sized and/or contoured such that the dermal contactarea of the nosepiece (e.g., the portion that comes in contact with theskin on wearer's nose during regular use) conforms closely to thesurface contours and features of a portion of the wearer's nose based ona 3D model of the wearer's nose (e.g., at least about 85%, at leastabout 95%, or at least about 99% of the total dermal contact surface ofthe nosepiece conforms to the 3D configuration of the correspondingsurface of the wearer's nose). In some cases, the nosepiece may exhibitbilateral asymmetry to complement a bilateral asymmetry of a wearer'sface and to position the eyewear in an optimal or desired orientation onthe wearer's face.

Additional aspects of the present disclosure relate to generatingcomputer models of eyewear. Such models are referred to herein as“eyewear models.” Individual styles of eyewear referred to as “models”in other contexts will be referred to herein as “eyewear styles” or“eyewear designs” for clarity. In some embodiments, eyewear may bemodeled using a computer aided design (“CAD”) system to generate a 3Dmodel that includes measurements, relationships, and other parametersdefining the eyewear or components thereof. The model may include, or bemodified to include, information regarding the customizations that maybe made to the eyewear while still maintaining the features, style, andother design elements of the eyewear. Once the eyewear model has beencustomized as desired, it (or some portion of it) is reproduced as athree dimensional physical article, in this example an eyewear,customized to conform to the target wearer.

For example, the eyewear model may include ranges within which specificcomponents may be created or modified (e.g., minimum/maximum sizes). Asanother example, the eyewear model may indicate which specificcomponents or other portions of the eyewear may be customized and whichmay not. In some embodiments, the model may include, or be modified toinclude, information to facilitate use of the model with 3D models ofwearers' heads. For example, an eyewear model may include a coordinatesystem and/or reference points that correspond to the coordinate systemand/or reference points of 3D models of wearer's heads.

Further aspects of the present disclosure relate to generating 3D modelsof wearers' faces or heads. Such models are referred to herein as“wearer models.” A wearer may be photographed, scanned or otherwiseimaged a first time while wearing or positioned in proximity to areference device and a second time without the reference device. Theimage data may be combined or analyzed to determine points of contactbetween the wearer and the reference device. For example, a wearer maywear a reference device, which may be a sample of the eyewear that thewearer would like to customize, or which may be some other device, suchas a device designed to accentuate specific points of contact with ordimensions of the wearer's head, a device that includes sensors (e.g.,pressure sensors) to provide data to improve the scan or model, etc. Thereference device may be painted or otherwise colored to facilitatedigital removal of the reference device from scan data, similar to a“green screen” method as used in cinema and television. Temporaryremoval of the reference eyewear device from the scan may facilitateeasier and/or more accurate alignment/overlay of the wearer scanscapture with and without the reference device. As another example, areasof clearance (e.g., points or areas of a wearer's head where no contactis desired) may be determined. Such clearance can be important forproper fit and comfort given the different cranial geometries ofindividual wearers. In some embodiments, image data of a wearer's heador face may not be captured while the wearer is wearing or positioned inproximity to a reference device. Rather, the wearer may be imagedwithout any reference device, and a resulting 3D model of the wearer'sface or head may be used to estimate or otherwise determine points ofcontact, areas of clearance, etc.

In some embodiments, image data of wearers' heads (or some portionthereof, such as the face, or the face and ear regions) may be capturedusing a plurality of different image capture devices such as cameras,with each camera positioned at a different location with respect to thewearers' head. The captured image data can thereafter be processed toproduce a merged data set representative of a three dimensionalconfiguration of the selected portion of the wearer's anatomy. In otherembodiments, a single camera may be used to capture image data ofwearers' heads from a plurality of different viewing angles with respectto the wearers' heads. In addition to scan data, a wearer model mayinclude or be associated with information about specific preferences ofthe wearer, such as preferred contact points with points of eyewear,amounts of pressure from securement structures (e.g., earstems), pointsor areas of clearance, orientation with respect to the wearer's eyes orface, and the like.

Still further aspects of the present disclosure relate to customizingeyewear models with respect to wearer models to generate data describingeyewear customizations for a specific wearer. In some embodiments, aneyewear model to be customized may be positioned and oriented withrespect to a wearer model according to some predefined or otherwisedesired positional and/or orientation data, wearer preferences, and thelike. Components or portions of the eyewear model may then bemanipulated to maintain the desired position, orientation, etc. of theeyewear model with respect to the wearer model. For example, a nosepiecemay be sized and/or shaped to maintain the frame of eyewear at a desiredlocation and orientation with respect to a wearer's eyes and line ofsight, to compensate for asymmetries in the wearer's nasal structureand/or eye positions, etc. As another example, one or both earstems maybe sized and/or shaped to compensate for asymmetries in a wearer's earpositions. As a further example, orbitals may be sized and/or shaped toachieve a predefined or desired orientation with respect to surfacesand/or structures of a wears face, such as eyebrows, cheeks, etc. As astill further example, the orientation of the orbitals or lenses can beadjusted according to wearer preferences or to compliment the wear'sface, such as by rotating the orbitals to a certain clockwise orcounter-clockwise angle (e.g., for a “droop” or “cat eye” look) oradjusting the degree to which the lenses wrap around the wearer's face.As yet another example, the distance between the lenses can be selectedbased on a wearer's nose size or head width. As a further example, thepantoscopic tilt can be selected to achieve a desired clearance fromsurfaces and/or structures of a wears face, such as eyebrows, cheeks,etc. As a still further example, a faceplate of a goggle may be sizedand/or shaped to conform to the contours of a wearer's face, therebyreducing the thickness of a foam gasket and/or the compressibility ofthe gasket required to maintain a secure fit and proper seal (e.g., fromelemental intrusion such as snow or cold air). In addition, thecustomized faceplate can maintain proper pressure distribution and avoidexcessive pressure “hot spots” (e.g., around the nasal area that caninterfere with comfortable breathing).

Various aspects of the disclosure will now be described with regard tocertain examples and embodiments, which are intended to illustrate butnot limit the disclosure. Although aspects of the embodiments describedin the disclosure will focus, for the purpose of illustration, oncustomizing particular components of particular eyewear (e.g.,nosepieces of eyeglasses, faceplates of goggles, etc.), one of skill inthe art will appreciate that the features described herein may beapplied to other components and/or other types of eyewear, or to entirepieces of eyewear. For example, the features disclosed herein may beapplied to creating eyeglasses, goggles, or other eyewear in whichmultiple individual components or substantially all components arecustomized according to parameters and preferences of a specific wearer.

Illustrative Process for Creating Customized Eyewear

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process 100 for generatingcustomized eyewear or components thereof according to some embodiments.Advantageously, the process 100 may be used to generate eyewear (oreyewear components) customized for individual wearers without requiringmanual adjustments or trial-and-error. In some cases, the customizedeyewear or components may be non-adjustable such that they arepermanently (or substantially permanently) configured to be worn byspecific wearer.

The process 100 or portions thereof may be performed by one or morecomputing systems, such as the computing systems shown in theillustrative environment 200 of FIG. 2. The environment 200 may includevarious devices, systems, services, and the like in communication viaone or more networks 250. The network 250 may be a publicly accessiblenetwork of linked networks, possibly operated by various distinctparties, such as the Internet. In other embodiments, the network 250 mayinclude a private network, personal area network, local area network,wide area network, cable network, cellular telephone network, etc. orsome combination thereof, any or all of which may or may not have accessto and/or from the Internet. In some embodiments, the process 100 orportions thereof may be performed by, or using input from, techniciansusing software executing on one or more computing devices.

As shown, the environment 200 may include a wearer model generationsystem 210 to obtain scan data and preferences for individual wearersand to generate wearer models. Illustratively, the wearer modelgeneration system 210 (or individual components thereof) may be locatedat point-of-sale locations, such as optometrist offices, stores operatedby non-prescription eyewear vendors, and the like. The environment 200may also include an eyewear customization system 220 to manage themodeling of eyewear, determine how to customize eyewear for individualwearers, and to generate the customized eyewear or components thereof.Illustratively, the eyewear customization system 220 may be locatedremotely from point-of-sale locations, such as at eyewear manufacturerfacilities. In some embodiments, a single system may perform most or allfeatures of both the wearer model generation system 210 and eyewearcustomization system 220. For example, a single system or a collectionof systems in a single physical location may scan wearers, generatewearer models, determine customizations to eyewear models, and generatethe customized eyewear or components. In some embodiments, a personalcomputing device (e.g., mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer,desktop computer, peripheral device, etc.) may be used to obtain scandata and/or preference data from individual wearers. For example, awearer's mobile phone may be used to capture images of the wearer'shead.

The wearer model generation system 210 may include various components toprovide the wearer modeling features described herein. For example, thewearer model generation system 210 may include a wearer scanningcomponent 212 to photograph or otherwise scan a wearer, and a wearermodeling component 214 to generate a 3D computer model of a wearer basedon scan data received from the wearer scanning component 212,preferences provided by the wearer, input provided by an operator (e.g.,technician or sales representative), etc. Individual components of thewearer model generation system 210 may be available via a network and/orphysically located remotely from the wearer scanning component 212. Forexample, the wearer scanning component 212 may capture images of awearer and transmit the images, or data derived therefrom, to a remotewearer modeling component 214 that processes data from this particularwearer scanning component 212 and, optionally, from one or moreadditional wearer scanning components 212. In some embodiments, thewearer model generation system 210 may include fewer, additional, and/oralternative components than those illustrated in FIG. 2.

The eyewear customization system 220 may include various components anddata stores to provide the eyewear modeling and customization featuresdescribed herein. For example, the eyewear customization system 220 mayinclude: an eyewear modeling component 222 to generate 3D computermodels of individual eyeglasses, goggles, and other eyewear; acustomization modeling component 224 to determine customizations foreyewear based on wearer models and preferences; an eyewear productioncomponent 226 to produce the physical customized eyewear or components;an eyewear model data store 230 to store eyewear models and to storeinformation regarding how the eyewear may be customized; and a wearermodel data store 232 to store wearer models, such as wearer modelsreceived from the wearer model generation system 210. In someembodiments, the eyewear customization system 220 may include fewer,additional, and/or alternative components and data stores than thoseillustrated in FIG. 2.

The components of the wearer model generation system 210 and/or thecomponents of the eyewear model customization system 220 may each beimplemented as hardware or as a combination of hardware and software. Insome embodiments, the wearer model generation system 210 and/or theeyewear model customization system 220 may each be a single computingdevice, or one or both may include multiple distinct computing devices,such as computer workstations and/or servers, logically or physicallygrouped together to collectively operate as a computing system. Forexample: individual components of the wearer model generation system 210may be implemented on separate physical computing devices; a subset orsubstantially all of the components of the wearer model generationsystem 210 may be implemented on a single computing device or group ofcomputing devices configured to operate as a single computing system;individual components of the eyewear model customization system 220 maybe implemented on separate physical computing devices; a subset orsubstantially of the components of the eyewear model customizationsystem 220 may be implemented on a single computing device or group ofcomputing devices configured to operate as a single computing system;subsets of components from both the wearer model generation system 210and eyewear model customization system, or substantially all componentsfrom both systems, may be implemented on a single computing device orgroup of computing devices configured to operation as a single computingsystem; etc.

Returning to FIG. 1, the process 100 may be embodied in a set ofexecutable program instructions stored on one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media, such as one or more disk drives or solid-statememory devices of the computing systems shown in FIG. 2. When theprocess 100 or some portion thereof is initiated at block 102, theexecutable program instructions can be loaded into memory, such as RAM,and executed by one or more processors of a computing system. In someembodiments, a computing system may include multiple computing devices,such as servers, and the process 100 or portions thereof may be executedby multiple servers serially or in parallel.

At block 104, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can generate a 3D eyewear model defining a particular style of eyewear,such as a specific eyeglass frame, goggles, or the like. In addition,the eyewear model defining a particular style of eyewear may include orotherwise be associated with data indicating which portions of theeyewear may be customized, the manner or degree to which the eyewear maybe customized, etc. For example, an eyewear designer or manufacturer mayoffer several different styles of sunglasses (e.g., dozens or hundredsof different styles). A separate eyewear model may be generated orobtained for each of the styles or for some subset thereof. The eyewearmodel for a particular style may include measurements, relationships,and other parameters defining the style (or individual componentsthereof). In addition, the eyewear model may include, or be modified toinclude, information regarding the customizations that may be made tothe eyewear while still maintaining the features and design elements ofthe particular style. In some embodiments, the eyewear model may includeranges within which specific components may be created or modified, orminimum/maximum sizes or other measurements for various components. Forexample, the eyewear model may specify a value between 0.5 mm and 1.50mm as the maximum adjustment to the distance between the lenses or tothe distance of each lens from the center point between the lenses; insome cases, this maximum may be specified as 1 mm. As another example,the eyewear model may specify a value between 1 mm and 4 mm as themaximum increase in the size of particular portions of the nosepiece; insome cases, this maximum may be specified as 2.5 mm. In someembodiments, the eyewear model may indicate which specific components orother portions of the eyewear may be customized and which may not. Oneprocess for generating eyewear models is shown in FIG. 3 and describedin greater detail below. The process may be repeated for each eyewearstyle that the eyewear designer or manufacturer wishes to make availablefor customization. The 3D model data for eyewear may be stored in theeyewear model data store 232 or some other data store.

At block 106, the wearer modeling component (or some other component ofthe wearer model generation system 210 or some other system) cangenerate a 3D model of a particular wearer. A particular wearer may bephotographed or otherwise scanned by a wearer scanning component 212 togenerate 3D images of the wearer's head or some portion thereof, such asthe wearer's face, ears, and/or other areas. In some embodiments, thewearer may be scanned one or more times, and each scan may be performedwithout the wearer wearing or being positioned in proximity to anyreference device. In other embodiments, the wearer may be scannedmultiple times: one or more times while wearing a reference device(e.g., reference eyewear), and one or more times without wearing anyreference device. A 3D wearer model may be generated, and may includedata identifying specific points to be used in the eyewear customizationprocess, such as points of contact with the reference device, likelypoints of contact with particular eyewear styles, etc. One process forgenerating wearer models is shown in FIG. 6 and described in greaterdetail below. The wearer model may be transmitted to the eyewearcustomization system 220 and stored in the wearer model data store 232for use by subsequent processes, as described herein.

At block 108, information may be obtained regarding the desiredcustomizations of the wearer scanned above at block 106. An eyewearcustomization system may use such information to reconfigure or modifyeyewear, or to select a modular component for the eyewear, as describedin greater detail below. In some embodiments, an interface or controlmay be provided by which information regarding wearer preferences andcustomizations may be input or captured. For example, the wearer (orsome other party, such as a technician or sales associate) may inputinformation indicative of a preference for sunglasses to sit at aparticular location on the wearer's nose. The information many includean offset measurement of a particular eyewear component from aparticular facial feature, such as an offset of the nosepiece from thewearer's nasion or the tip of the wearer's nose, or an offset of theorbitals from the wearers cheeks or brows. The wearer may also oralternatively be scanned while wearing a reference device positioned atthe preferred location on the wearer's nose, or a model of eyewear maybe placed at the preferred location on a model of the wearer's face(e.g., in a virtual try-on process). The scan data or other model datamay be translated or used to derive an offset of a particular eyewearcomponent from a particular facial feature that has the effect ofplacing the eyewear at the preferred location on the wearer's nose. Asanother example, the wearer may input information indicative of apreference for sunglasses to be positioned at a particular location,offset, and/or orientation with respect to the wearer's eyes, brows,forehead, and/or cheeks. As a further example, the wearer may inputinformation indicative of a preference that the earstems of thesunglasses exert a particular pressure or range of pressures on thewearer's head. The information may be provided in the form of specificpressure measurements or as ranges of pressure measurements, or thewearer may select from a range of reference eyewear with a desiredpressure. As a still further example, the wearer may input formationindicative of a preference for shorter or longer earstems for comfort.The information may be provided in the form of specific earstemmeasurements, relative increases or decreases to default measurements,scan data with a reference device positioned at a preferred locationfrom which an earstem length measurement can be derived, etc. As anotherexample, the wearer may input information indicative of a preference forthe eyewear frame to be wider or narrower, or otherwise be scaled up ordown in overall size. As yet another example, the wearer may inputinformation specifying a preferred location of eyewear orbitals withrespect to the wearer's eyes. As a further example, the wearer may inputinformation indicative of a preference for a particular degree ofpantoscopic tilt or wrap to the lenses of the eyewear. As a stillfurther example, the wearer may input information indicative of apreference for a particular grip location, icon adjustment, material,and/or other personalization to the look and feel of the eyewear (e.g.,the addition or relocation of text, images, precious metals, or jewelson eyewear frames; the use of metal, nylon, plastic, or rubber forvarious eyewear components, etc.).

Data regarding the wearer preferences and desired customizationsdescribed above and any other wearer preferences and desiredcustomizations may be provided to the eyewear customization system 220in connection with the 3D model data for the wearer (e.g., wearerpreference data may be embedded in the wearer model) or it may beprovided separately. In some embodiments, a sample of eyewear or someother reference device may be physically re-positioned on the wearer'shead, and data regarding the wearer's preferred location may be capturedautomatically (e.g., via sensors in the reference device, or via a scanof the wearer with the reference device in the desired location) ormanually (e.g., measurements and locations may be taken by a technicianor sales representative and entered into the wearer model generationsystem 210). In other embodiments, a model of eyewear may be virtuallyre-positioned on a model or image of the wearer's head until a positionand/or orientation preferred by the wearer is achieved. Measurements andlocations may then be automatically determined from the model.

At block 110, the customization modeling component 224 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can use the eyewear model for a particular eyewear style and the wearermodel for a particular wearer to determine how to customize eyewear forthe particular wearer. In some embodiments, the eyewear model may bepositioned on the wearer model, and the location and/or orientation ofthe eyewear model may be adjusted with respect to the wearer modelaccording the specific design parameters of the eyewear and thewearer-specific preferences. The eyewear model (or specific componentsthereof) may then be modified to maintain the determined location and/ororientation with respect to particular portions of the wearer model. Forexample, a nosepiece may be enlarged, shrunk, and/or re-shaped toconform to the specific contours of the portion of the wearer's nosethat will contact the nosepiece in order to maintain the lenses of theeyewear at a particular location and orientation with respect to thewearer's line of sight.

At block 112, the eyewear production component 226 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can generate customized eyewear or eyewear components. In the example,above, the eyewear production component 226 can generate a customizednosepiece that, when installed on eyewear of the chosen style, willmaintain the eyewear at the desired location and/or orientation withrespect to the wearer's head. The eyewear production component may be anadditive production component, such as a 3D printer, that producescustomized eyewear or eyewear components based on the customized modelgenerated at block 110. In some embodiments, the eyewear productioncomponent may be a subtractive production component that starts with aneyewear or eyewear component “blank” and, through controlled materialremoval, produces the customized eyewear or eyewear components based onthe customized model generated at block 110. In some embodiments, aninjection mold or injection mold insert may be generated (e.g., alimited-use or disposable mold may be 3D printed) or otherwisecustomized (e.g., a generic or “blank” mold may be customized usingadditive or subtractive processes). The mold may then be used togenerate a customized component. For example, the mold may be placed ina thermoplastic injection molding machine, and a custom eyewearcomponent may be created via injection molding. As another example, aportion of the eyewear may be created (e.g., 3D printed), placed into areceptacle in an injection mold, and overmolded with injection-moldedplastic to form a hybrid eyewear component (e.g., partially 3D printed,partially injection molded). In some embodiments, the eyewear productioncomponent 226 may identify or select a particular pre-fabricatedcomponent from a set of available components based on the degree towhich the component conforms to the determined customizations. Forexample, the eyewear production component 226 can identify a particularmodular component, such as a nosepiece, orbital, earstem, bridge, etc.,from a selection of available modular components that can be used withthe eyewear style being customized. The selection of available modulecomponents may be of limited size, such as a selection of up to about 5different versions of a component, up to about 10 different versions, upto about 20 different versions, up to about 50 different versions, etc.One example process for determining the customizations to the eyewearand for generating customized eyewear based on the determinedcustomizations is shown in FIG. 11 and described in greater detailbelow.

Illustrative Process for Creating an Eyewear Model

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process 300 for generating3D eyewear models that may be used to generate customized eyewear asdescribed herein. Advantageously, the process 300 may be used togenerate models configured to be placed onto 3D wearer models andmanipulated to implement eyewear customizations. The eyewear modelsgenerated using the process 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 define thebaseline design parameters and customization envelopes for a particulareyewear design, and may be used in other processes, such as the process1100 shown in FIG. 11, to generate eyewear customized for a particularwearer.

The process 300 may be embodied in a set of executable programinstructions stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia, such as one or more disk drives or solid-state memory devices ofthe eyewear customization system 220 shown in FIG. 2. When the process300 or some portion thereof is initiated at block 302, the executableprogram instructions can be loaded into memory, such as RAM, andexecuted by one or more processors of a computing system. In someembodiments, a computing system may include multiple computing devices,such as servers, and the process 300 or portions thereof may be executedby multiple servers serially or in parallel.

At block 304, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can obtain and/or generate 3D data for the baseline design of aparticular eyewear style. The 3D data for the baseline design may beobtained from an original design of the eyewear style generated using aCAD system. In some embodiments, such as when 3D data for the originaldesign of the eyewear is not available, the 3D data may be generated viaa scanning process in which a sample of the eyewear style is scanned toproduce a 3D model.

At block 306, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can obtain and/or generate metadata regarding the eyewear design. Themetadata may include customization trial data, such as feedbackregarding trial fittings with samples of the eyewear style. Thecustomization trial data may indicate the comfort and effectiveness ofvarious adjustments to baseline parameters of the eyewear design. Forexample, the customization trial data may indicate, for specificwearers, groups of wearers, or an average wearer overall, how changes tovarious eyewear parameters affect the eyewear center plane, eye or browlocation, brow or cheek offset, etc.

At block 308, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can obtain and/or generate additional metadata regarding the eyeweardesign, including pressure distribution targets. The pressuredistribution targets may include pressure targets for particular eyewearcomponents (e.g., earstems, headbands, nosepieces, faceplates, etc.) tosecure the eyewear at a desired position and/or orientation with respectto a wearer's head and line of sight. The pressure distribution targetsmay include different target ranges or absolute targets for each of avariety of expected uses, such as general wear, jogging, extremelyactive use, etc.

At block 310, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can obtain and/or generate metadata regarding the eyewear design, suchas baseline positions and/or offsets for features of wearers. In someembodiments, baseline positions may correspond to the expected eyeposition, brow position, cheek position, etc. of the wearers. Baselineoffsets may correspond to the distance of particular points of theeyewear from wearers' brows, cheeks, etc. The baseline positions andoffsets may include a single set of positions and offsets for allwearers (e.g., average or median positions), or they may include sets ofpositions and offsets for each of multiple groups of wearers based onthe particular wearer parameters associated with the group (e.g., commonnose width, eye and/or ear location, cheek size, brow size, etc. forparticular ethic groups, sexes, ages, and the like). In someembodiments, the baseline positions and offsets may be numerical valuesthat represent measurements for the distance of offsets or thatrepresent coordinates or sizes of eyewear components.

At block 312, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can obtain and/or generate additional metadata regarding the eyeweardesign, including weighting factors for the eyewear positions andoffsets. Weighting factors can be used to determine the relativeimportance of the various positions and offsets with respect to oneanother. The weighting factors can be used in cases where it isdifficult or impossible to achieve or maintain each and every desiredposition and/or offset for a particular wearer, based on the parametersof the wearer (head scan, personal preferences, etc.). For example, agiven style of sunglasses may have a location defined for optimal ordesired eye location with respect to particular points of thesunglasses. The sunglasses may also have offsets defined for the optimalor desired distance from particular points of the sunglasses to thewearer's cheeks and brows (e.g., an offset in millimeters for cheeks anda separate offset in millimeters for brows). Based on the parameters ofa specific wearer, it may be difficult or impossible to maintain alloptimal or desired positions and offsets while staying with the designparameters of the sunglass style. In such cases, weighting factors maybe used to achieve or come closer to achieving certain optimal ordesired positions or offset (e.g., those with higher weights) at theexpense of achieving other optimal or desired positions or offsets(e.g., those with lower weights). For example, a horizontal plane foruse in later aligning an eyewear model with a wearer's face, asdescribed in greater detail below, may be determined first by theplacement of the reference eyewear on the wearer's face. However, ifbasing this horizontal plane on the reference eyewear is not desirableor possible for a particular wearer, the horizontal plane may bedetermined based on the location of the wearer's eyes or ears. Asanother example, if the wearer's nose is off-center with respect to thecenter pointer between the wearer's eyes, the eyewear may be orientedwith respect to the center point between the wearer's eyes instead ofthe position of the wearer's nose, the distance between the lenses maybe increased, the eyewear may be oriented off-center to a certaindegree, etc. In some embodiments, as described in detail below, wearersmay define their own weighting factors, which may override or be used inconjunction with the weights determined at block 312.

At block 314, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can apply position and directional coordinate systems to the 3D modeldata for the eyewear. The coordinate systems may be applied so that theeyewear model may be aligned properly with a wearer model (such as awearer model generated using process 600 described in greater detailbelow) in order to determine wearer-specific customizations. Thus, thecoordinate systems applied to the eyewear model may be the samecoordinates systems as the coordinate systems used in the wearer model,or coordinate systems that are compatible therewith.

At block 316, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can determine the sliding and pivot behavior of the earstems for theeyewear style. During normal use, the earstems of eyewear can slidefront-to-back and back-to-front on the portions of wearer's ears thatconnect the ears to the wearer's head. When the earstems are notproperly fit to the wearer's head, the sliding behavior can becomeexcessive and allow the eyewear to move too close to, or too far from,the wearer's eyes. In addition, the eyewear itself can pivot in thevertical direction on a wearer's head (e.g., the nosepiece and orbitalsmove upward away from the wearer's nose and eyes, respectively), whilethe earstems remain in contact with the wearer's ears. The sliding andpivot behavior of eyewear earstems can vary from style-to-style, anddifferences in the sliding and pivot behavior of a particular style'searstems can affect the manner and degree to which various aspects ofthe eyewear can be customized (e.g., pressure distribution targets forthe earstems). In some embodiments, other sliding and movement behaviormay be determined, such as the sliding and movement behavior ofheadbands used to secure goggles to the heads of wearers.

At block 318, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can determine the deflection behavior and envelope for the eyewearstyle. The deflection behavior includes the manner and degree to whichcomponents of the eyewear deflect during normal use (in the “as-worn”state). In general, some amount of deflection is necessary for aparticular eyewear frame to be properly mounted on a wearer's head. Inan undeflected state (also referred to herein as the “default state” or“default unstressed configuration”), the distance between the earstemsgenerally smaller than in the deflected state (also referred to hereinas the “as-worn state” or “as-worn stressed configuration”). The outwarddeflection of the earstems in the as-worn state ensures that the eyewearexerts a slight squeeze, “headforce” or “retention force” to facilitateretaining the eyewear on the wearer's head. Too much headforce resultsin discomfort, and too little headforce results in eyewear that slipsfrom a desired location on the wearer's head or for falls from thewearer's head altogether. In some embodiments, a data set thatcharacterizes the deflection behavior of eyewear and/or eyewearcomponents may be generated. For example, finite element analysis(“FEA”) may be used to generate a stiffness matrix. The stiffness matrixmay be a data set that describes eyewear as a series of nodes, each witha locating force proportional to its displacement from its rest positionwith respect to each of its neighboring nodes. Deflection of the eyewearmay be modeled by computing the node deflection that results fromapplication of a load to the nodes. Thus, headforce and deflection inthe as-worn state can be predicted or simulated from the stiffnessmatrix. In addition, the forces can be applied in reverse to predict orsimulate an undeflected state that will result in a desired degree ofdeflection in the as-worn state when worn by a particular wearer (e.g.,a wearer with a particular head size that spreads the earstems apart bya particular amount). The deflection envelope defines the outer limitswithin the individual components may deflect. For example, earstems of aparticular style may deflect up to 2 inches, while the frame in the noseregion may deflect up to 0.25 inches.

At block 320, the eyewear modeling component 222 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can determine the eyewear customization envelope for the eyewear style.The eyewear customization envelope can identify the components andfeatures of the eyewear style that are allowed to be changed forwearer-specific customizations, and the envelope within which thecomponents and features may be changed. The eyewear customizationenvelope can also identify the components and features that are notpermitted to be changed. In some embodiments, only a single component orsurface of the eyewear style may be changed, such as the nosepiece. Theeyewear customization envelope for the eyewear style may thereforeindicate that only the nosepiece may be changed, and may indicatemaximum and/or minimum measurements for certain dimensions of thenosepiece or portions thereof, the maximum rate at which surfacecontours can change over a particular area, etc. In other embodiments,additional or alternative components and/or surfaces may be changed, andthe eyewear customization envelope can identify them accordingly. Forexample, earstem thickness and/or bending characteristics, framethickness and/or bending characteristics, etc. may be specified in theeyewear customization envelope. Other examples of customizations thatmay be specified in the eyewear customization envelope include thepressure or range of pressures that the earstems exert on the wearer'shead, the maximum and/or minimum lengths for the earstems, the maximumand/or minimum width or overall size of eyewear, the maximum and/orminimum distance between the lenses, the degree or maximum angle bywhich orbitals may be rotated, and the maximum and/or minimum degree ofpantoscopic tilt or wrap to the lenses of the eyewear.

FIG. 4A shows an illustrative eyewear model 400 of sunglasses, such asan eyewear model obtained at block 304 above. As shown, eyewear model400 includes nosepieces 402, a frame 404, lenses 406, and earstems 408.Although the eyewear model 400 includes all of these components, in somecases only a subset may be permitted to be changed. In some embodiments,the lenses 406 may be permitted to be changed. For example, thelocation, orientation, wrap, rake, gradient location,bifocal/trifocal/progressive locations, base curve adjustment,asymmetrical bias (shooting, batting, etc.), lens shape and size, andother parameters of the lenses 406 may be adjusted to achieve an optimalor desired line of sight or other optical characteristics, as describedin greater detail below with respect to FIGS. 16A-20B. In otherembodiments, the eyewear frame 404 or individual components such as thenosepieces 402 and earstems 408 may be customized instead of, or inaddition to, the lenses 406.

FIG. 4B shows a version of the eyewear model 450 with eyewearcustomization envelope data applied. In eyewear model 450, thecomponents permitted to be changed—nosepieces 402—are indicated as such,while frame 406 and the remainder of the components (not shown) areindicated as not permitted to be changed. The nosepieces 402 are shownat their maximum permitted size in eyewear model 450. In addition,eyewear model 450 may include eyewear customization envelope dataindicating the minimum permitted size, or the maximum amount of materialthat may be removed from the nosepieces 402 (not shown).

FIG. 5A shows an illustrative eyewear model 500 of goggles, such as aneyewear model obtained at block 304 above. As shown, eyewear model 500includes a frame 502, gasket 504, and headband 506. Although eyewearmodel 500 includes all of these components, in some embodiments only asubset may be permitted to be changed. For example, only the frame 502may be customized, or only the gasket 504 may be customized, or only theheadband 506 may be customized. As another example, two or all threecomponents may be customized, or additional or alternative componentsmay be customized, etc.

FIG. 5B shows a version 550 of the eyewear model of the frame 502 witheyewear customization envelope data applied. In eyewear model 550 of theframe, the component permitted to be changed—posterior frame 510, alsoreferred to as a faceplate—is indicated as such, while another componentof the frame—anterior frame 512, which houses the lens of the goggle—isindicated as not permitted to be changed. The faceplate 510 may becustomized to conform to the contours of a wearer's face. The use of afaceplate 510 customized to the face contours of a specific wearer canallow use of a thinner gasket 504 (not shown in FIG. 5B) or a gasket 504made of different material (e.g., less compressible, less resilient,etc.) than conventional gaskets. Conventional gaskets are typicallydesigned to fill all of the gaps between the uniform curvature ofconventional faceplates and all varying face shapes of a wide range ofpotential wearers, and are therefore typically both thick and highlycompressible.

Returning to FIG. 3, at block 322 the eyewear modeling component 222 (orsome other component of the eyewear customization system 220 or someother system) can store the eyewear model (with the eyewearcustomization envelope integrated within the eyewear model or storedseparately from the eyewear model) for the eyewear style.Illustratively, the eyewear model may be stored in the eyewear modeldata store 230.

Illustrative Process for Creating a Wearer Model

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process 600 for generating3D models of wearer's faces that may be used to generate customizedeyewear as described herein. Advantageously, the process 600 may be usedto generate wearer models configured to allow models of customizableeyewear, such as eyewear models generated according to the process 300described above, to be placed onto the models of the wearer's faces anddetermine wearer-specific eyewear customizations.

The process 600 may be embodied in a set of executable programinstructions stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia, such as one or more disk drives or solid-state memory devices ofthe wearer model generation system 210 shown in FIG. 2. When the process600 or some portion thereof is initiated at block 602, the executableprogram instructions can be loaded into memory, such as RAM, andexecuted by one or more processors of a computing system. In someembodiments, a computing system may include multiple computing devices,such as servers, and the process 600 or portions thereof may be executedby multiple servers serially or in parallel. In some embodiments, theprocess 600 or portions thereof may be performed by, or using inputfrom, technicians using software executing on one or more computingdevices.

At block 604, the wearer modeling component 214 (or some other componentof the wearer model generation system 210 or some other system) canobtain scan data regarding the head of an individual wearer. The wearermay be wearing a reference device, such as a sample of the eyeweardesign that the wearer would like to have customized. In someembodiments, the reference device may be a standard reference eyewear,such as eyewear with standardized positional indicators. In otherembodiments, the reference device may be a partial eyeglass frame, suchas the earstems, nosepiece(s), and upper frame of an eyeglass. Inadditional embodiments, the reference device may not be “eyewear,” butmay instead be some other device worn on or otherwise positioned inclose proximity to a wearer's head. Illustratively, the reference devicemay include sensors (e.g., pressure sensors) to provide additional datato the wearer model generation system 210. One example of a referencedevice is shown in FIG. 8A. Although the example reference devicedescribed in detail below and shown in FIG. 8A is reference eyewear, oneof skill in the relevant art will appreciate that other appropriatenon-eyewear reference devices may be used. In some embodiments, no scandata may be obtained regarding the wearer while he/she is wearing areference device. Instead, the process of determining reference pointson the wearer's head, such as eyewear contact points, may be performedusing scan data of the wearer's head alone without any reference device.

The scan data may be generated by a wearer scanning component 212 orsome other surface topography capture device. The image data may bephotographic data, such as from one or a series of images that can becombined to form a 3D model or from which a 3D model may otherwise bederived. The images may be black and white, grayscale, color, etc. Insome embodiments, non-visible scan data may additionally oralternatively be captured to generate or enhance a wearer model. Forexample, energy outside of the visible wavelengths may be captured, suchas infrared scans, sonograms derived from reflected sound signals suchas ultrasound, x-rays, and any other modality from which a reflected,transmitted or absorbed signal can be utilized to obtain or approximatedata corresponding to a three dimensional surface of at least a portionof a wearer's head. Such data may be used to create or modify a wearermodel and produce customized eyewear.

FIG. 7 shows one example wearer scanning component 700. As shown, thewearing scanning component 700 may include an array of cameras 712positioned at different locations with respect to a wearer's head 702.The cameras 712 may be coupled to placement structure 710, such as anarcuate, circular, or triangular member. The placement structure 710 mayposition the cameras 712 at desired locations, such as in front of thewearer's head 702 and at the left and right sides. The cameras 712 maybe coupled to the placement structure 710 at fixed locations, or thelocations of the cameras 712 on the placement structure 710 may beadjustable. In some embodiments, the height of some cameras 712 withrespect to the wearer's head 702 may be different than the height ofother cameras 712. For example, the cameras to the left and/or rightside of the wearer's head, positioned to capture photos or other scansof the wearer's profile (and, more specifically, a portion above or nearthe wearer's ears) may be positioned higher than the camera directly infront of the wearer. This difference may be desirable in order to scan,from a downward-looking angle, the portion of the wearer's head 702 thatcontacts (or will come in contact) with the earstems of eyewear.

FIG. 8A shows an example 3D model 800 of a particular wearer, generatedfrom one or more scans of the wearer while the wearer is wearingreference eyewear 802. In some embodiments, the entire model 800 doesnot necessarily need to be created to the highest level of accuracypossible under the constraints of the wearer scanning component 212.Rather, the portions of the wearer's head that have a direct orsignificant impact of the fit of eyewear may be modeled to a high degreeof accuracy, while other portions of the wearer's head may be modeled toa lower degree of accuracy, or not modeled at all. As shown, the model800 includes a 3D representation of the wearer's face and ears, but therest of the wearer's head is not represented. A first region 810 of thewearer's face, corresponding to portions of the wearer's nose and eyes,may be modeled to a high degree of accuracy, such as accuracy to about0.1 mm, about 0.15 mm, or about 0.2 mm. A second region 812,corresponding to portions of the wearer's cheeks, eyes, and brow, may bemodeled to a moderate degree of accuracy, such as to about 0.25 mm,about 0.35 mm, or about 0.45 mm. A third region 814, corresponding toportions of the wearer's forehead, ears, cheeks, nose, and other areasof the wearer's head, may be modeled to a lower degree of accuracy, suchas to about 0.5 mm, about 0.67 mm, or about 0.75 mm. In someembodiments, the specific degrees of accuracy and corresponding areasmay be different, depending upon the eyewear type and/or style. Forexample, customizing eyeglasses and, in particular, the nosepieces ofeyeglasses may require a high degree of accuracy for only a smallportion of the wearer's nose (e.g., portions on the side of the wearer'snose and/or the nasion), while customizing goggles and, in particular,the faceplates of goggles may require a high degree of accuracy for alarger portion of the wearer's nose and the wearer's face around theeyes.

Returning to FIG. 6, at block 606 the wearer modeling component 214 (orsome other component of the wearer model generation system 210 or someother system) can obtain scan data regarding the head of an individualwearer without wearing reference eyewear. FIG. 8B shows an example 3Dmodel 850 of a particular wearer, generated from one or more scans ofthe wearer without reference eyewear 802. As shown, different portionsof the wearer's face may be scanned to different degrees of accuracy, asdescribed above.

At block 608, the wearer modeling component 214 (or some other componentof the wearer model generation system 210 or some other system) candetermine features of reference eyewear positioning using the scan dataof the wearer's head with the reference eyewear. For example, the wearermodeling component 214 can determine the points at which the referenceeyewear contacts the left and right ears of the wearer. The wearermodeling component 214 can also determine the horizontal reference lineor plane that defines the upper location of the eyewear with respect tothe wearer's head. FIG. 9A shows an example 3D model 900 of a particularwearer wearing reference eyewear. As shown, an ear contact point 902 canbe determined for each ear, and horizontal reference line 904 can bedetermined for the reference eyewear.

In some embodiments, the wearer modeling component can determine pointsat the outer corners of the eyewear frame (e.g., the upper outer cornerof the front of the eyewear frame, often near the hinges between theorbitals and the earstems). These locations, which may be referred to aseyewear fiducial points 910, can be used to define a horizontalreference line or plane for the eyewear. It may be desirable to use theeyewear itself to define the horizontal reference line instead of usingfeatures of the wearer's face, because the wearer's facial features(e.g., eyes, nose, ears, brows, etc.) are often asymmetrical orotherwise non-horizontal. Thus, by scanning a wearer with referenceeyewear placed at a desired horizontal orientation, the eyewear fiducialpoints 910 can be determined and used to orient the 3D eyewear model atthe desired horizontal orientation during the process of determiningeyewear customizations.

In some embodiments, the wearer modeling component 214 can determine apoint midway between the ear contact points 902. This location, whichmay be referred to as the head origin point 912, can serve as areference point when aligning 3D eyewear models with the 3D model of thewearer's head. For example, a corresponding point may be determinedmidway between the points on eyewear earstems that are to contact theuser's ears at ear contact points 902. Then the eyewear model may bealigned with the wearer model by aligning the head origin point 912 withthe corresponding point on the eyewear model.

At block 610, the wearer modeling component 214 (or some other componentof the wearer model generation system 210 or some other system) candetermine features of the wearer's head using the scan data of thewearer's head without the reference eyewear. For example, the wearermodeling component 214 can determine the location of the pupils andcorners of the wearer's eyes, including the location of the outercorners of the wearer's eyes (the lateral corners with respect to thewearer's nose) and the wearer's tear ducts on the inner corners of thewearer's eyes (the medial corners with respect to the wearer's nose).FIG. 9B shows an example 3D model 950 of a particular wearer withoutreference eyewear. As shown, eye features 906 can be determined for thelocations of the pupils, tear ducts, and outer corners of the wearer'seyes.

At block 612, the wearer modeling component 214 (or some other componentof the wearer model generation system 210 or some other system) cancorrelate data from the scan of the wearer with reference eyewear toscan data from the scan of the wearer without reference eyewear. Thereference device may be painted or otherwise colored to facilitatedigital removal of the reference device from scan data, similar to a“green screen” method as used in cinema and television. Temporaryremoval of the reference eyewear device from the scan may facilitateeasier and/or more accurate alignment/overlay of the wearer scanscapture with and without the reference device. In some embodiments, thewearer scan data from the different scans may be correlated using aniterative closest point (ICP) algorithm in which the various points of afirst scan (e.g., the scan of the wearer with reference eyewear) areiteratively correlated with the various points of a second scan (e.g.,the scan of the wearer without reference eyewear) until a closestcorresponding point in the second scan is determined for each of thepoints in the first scan (or for some subset thereof). By correlatingdata from the different scans, the wearer modeling component 214 canidentify, on the 3D model of the wearer's head without referenceeyewear, the points at which the reference eyewear contacts the left andright ears of the wearer. The wearer modeling component 214 can alsoidentify, on the 3D model of the wearer's head without referenceeyewear, the horizontal reference line or plane that defines the upperlocation of the eyewear with respect to the wearer's head. FIG. 9B showsthe addition of these features (ear contact point 902 and horizontalreference line 904) to 3D model 950 of the wearer's head.

In some embodiments, the wearer modeling component 214 does not use orobtain a scan of a wearer wearing a reference device. Instead, theprocess of determining reference points on the wearer's head, such aseyewear contact points, may be performed using scan data of the wearer'shead alone without any reference device. For example, featurerecognition software may be used to automatically determine or suggestparticular reference points (e.g., brow locations, locations on the earat which earstems are to contact the wearer, etc.). As another example,an eyewear model may be fitted to a 3D scan of a wearer's head using avirtual try-on (“VTO”) process, and reference points can be determinedbased on how the eyewear model and wearer model interact. Preferencedata regarding the wearer's preferences may be obtained using aquestionnaire, VTO processes, and the like. For example, an eyewearmodel may be customized or moved with respect to a wearer model untilthe wearer, viewing the interactions of the models in a VTO process,indicates a preference for a particular customization or orientation. Asanother example, the reference points may be determined through manualfeature recognition and tagging by a technician.

In some embodiments, the wearer modeling component 214 does not use orobtain a scan of a wearer without a reference device. Rather, the wearermodeling component 214 (or some other component of the wearer modelgeneration system 210 or some other system) uses only a scan of thewearer wearing a reference device. The wearer modeling component usesthe scan to identify the points at which the reference device contactsthe left and right ears of the wearer, the horizontal reference line orplane that defines the upper location of eyewear with respect to thewearer's head, etc. Illustratively, a portable device, such as a mobilephone or hand-held camera, may be used to capture one or a series of 2Dimages of a wearer wearing a device with known dimensions andrelationships. Such images can be used to identify some or all points ofcontact that may be necessary or desired for customizing eyewear. Byanalyzing the images or other scan data of the wearer wearing a knownreference device (e.g., reference eyewear for which a 3D model isavailable), the wearer's facial dimensions and contours can beapproximated, the contact points with the reference eyewear can beapproximated, etc. In this way, a wearer may obtain some or all of thebenefits of customized eyewear described herein, without being requiredto first sit for or provide a scan of the wearer both with and without areference device. Instead, the wearer may sit for a single scan wearinga reference device, or simply submit a photograph or series ofphotographs of the wearer wearing a reference device having knowndimensions.

At block 614, the wearer modeling component 214 (or some other componentof the wearer model generation system 210 or some other system) candetermine eyewear position data with respect to the wearer's head usingthe correlated scan data (or scan data approximated from a single scanof the wearer without wearing a reference device). Eyewear position datamay include various planes of the 3D model of the wearer's head, andthose planes can be used to align 3D models of eyewear to the 3D modelsof the wearer's head. The planes may include (or be determined withrespect to) one or more recognized anatomical reference planes, such asthe sagittal plan, coronal plane, and/or transverse plane. Generallydescribed, the sagittal plane is an anterior-posterior plane thatbisects the body into equal left and right halves. The coronal plane isorthogonal to, and extends laterally in both directions from, thesagittal plane, thereby dividing the body into asymmetrical front andrear halves. The transverse plane is orthogonal to both the coronal andsagittal planes, and is generally considered to reside at the halfheight level, thereby dividing the body into asymmetrical upper andlower halves.

FIG. 10A shows an example 3D model 1000 with eyewear position data,including various planes described with respect to each other andvarious recognized anatomical planes. The model 1000 includes a scanvertical center plane 1002, an eye location plane 1004, a brow locationplane 1006, and an ear pivot axis 1008. The scan vertical center plane1002 of the wearer's head may be a plane that is orthogonal to asubstantially horizontal plane through the left and right ear contactpoints, and parallel to the sagittal plane of the wearer. In someembodiments, the scan vertical center plane 1002 may be determined withrespect to a face axis that extends from the head origin point 912,shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, through the midpoint between the wearer's eyes(e.g., the average of the locations of the eye features 906). The scanvertical center plane 1002 may be determined as the substantiallyvertical plane through the face axis. The eye location plane 1004 may bea plane that is orthogonal to the scan vertical center plane 1002,parallel to the transverse plane of the wearer, and/or parallel to thehorizontal reference line or plane that extends between the eyewearfiducial points 912 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. The eye location plane1004 also passes through the wearer's pupils, the centers of thewearer's eyes, or the average vertical location of the centers of thewearer's eyes. The brow location plane 1006 may be a plane that isparallel to the eye location plane 1004. The brow location plane 1006also passes through the wearer's brows (e.g., the plane 1006 passesthrough the point or points of the wearer's brows, above the wearer'snose, that extend the farthest in an anterior direction from thewearer's head along a plane that is parallel to the eye location plane1004 or the transverse plane of the wearer). The ear pivot axis 1008 maybe an axis through the left and right ear contact points and orthogonalto the scan vertical center plane 1002.

FIG. 10B is an elevational view of the 3D wearer model 1000, showing theleft side of the wearer's face. FIG. 10B includes eyewear position data,including various planes and reference points described with respect toeach other and various recognized anatomical planes. The model 1000includes a nasion plane 1010, a rearward nasion plane 1012, and a tearduct sphere 1016. The nasion is the intersection of the frontal bone andtwo nasal bones of the human skull. As used herein, the term nasiongenerally refers to the visible manifestation of the nasion on thesurface of a wearer's face in a depressed area directly between thewearer's eyes, just superior to the bridge of the wearer's nose. Thenasion plane 1010 may be a plane that passes through or substantiallynear the nasion, and is orthogonal to the eye location plane 1004 and/orparallel to the coronal plane of the wearer. The rearward nasion plane1012 may be a plane that is parallel to the nasion plane 1010, and isoffset from the nasion plane 1010 in the posterior direction by anoffset distance 1014 (e.g., the rearward nasion plane 1012 is located ata particular position between about 4 mm and about 10 mm posterior ofthe nasion plane 1010; in some embodiments the rearward nasion plane1012 is about 7 mm posterior of the nasion plane 1010). In someembodiments, a target area on the surface of the wearer's nose may beidentified between the nasion plane 1010 and rearward nasion plane 1012.The target area may be the area where the nosepiece of the eyewear is tocontact the wearer's face. For example, the nosepiece may not bepermitted to contact the wearer's nose on any surface anterior of thenasion plane 1010 or posterior of the rearward nasion plane 1012.

The tear duct sphere 1016 may be a sphere having a particular radius andthe tear duct 906 of the wearer as the origin of the sphere (e.g., theradius of the sphere may be a particular measurement between about 7.2mm and about 9.2 mm, or between about 8 mm and about 8.4 mm; in someembodiments, the sphere may have a radius of about 8.2 mm). A separatetear duct sphere 1016 may be determined for each eye of the wearer. Insome embodiments, no portion of the eyewear may be permitted to bewithin the tear duct spheres 1016 of the wearer. For example, thenosepiece may not be permitted to come within a distance of the tearduct 906 that is less than or equal to the radius of the tear ductsphere 1016.

Returning to FIG. 6, at block 616 data regarding the preferences of thewearer can be obtained, as described in greater detail above withrespect to FIG. 1. For example, the wearer may prefer sunglasses to sitat a particular location on the wearer's nose. As another example, thewearer may prefer sunglasses to be positioned at a particular locationand/or orientation with respect to the wearer's eyes. As a furtherexample, the wearer may prefer that the earstems of the sunglasses exerta particular pressure or range of pressures on the wearer's head. Asanother example, eyewear orbitals may be sized and/or shaped to achievea predefined or desired orientation with respect to surfaces and/orstructures of a wears face, such as eyebrows, cheeks, etc. As a furtherexample, the distance between the lenses can be selected based on awearer's nose size or head width. Information indicative of these andother wearer preferences may be input as describe d in greater detailabove, such as via entry of particular values, scans of the wearer withreference eyewear in a preferred location, virtual placement of aneyewear model on a wearer model, etc. As a still further example, theorientation of the orbitals or lenses can be adjusted according towearer preferences or to compliment the wear's face, such as by rotatingthe orbitals to a certain clockwise or counter-clockwise angle (e.g.,for a “droop” or “cat eye” look). Illustratively, an orbital may have amajor axis that is substantially horizontal and a minor axis that isorthogonal to the major axis and is substantially vertical when theorbital is in a default configuration. To achieve a “droop” look, theorbital may be rotated such that the major axis is inclined mediallywith respect to the nosepiece. To achieve a “cat eye” look, the orbitalmay be rotated such that the major axis is inclined laterally from thenosepiece. The particular degree to which orbitals are rotated may bespecified by a wearer. In some cases, the degree to which orbitals arerotated may be limited to a maximum degree of rotation generally or forparticular eyewear styles. The example wearer preferences and desiredcustomizations described herein are illustrative only, and are notintended to be limiting. In some embodiments, additional and/oralternative wearer preferences and customizations may be used. Forexample, wearers may select or provide information for customizationsregarding rake, wrap, vertex distance, bi-focal or progressivetransition, eyewear weight, eyewear material, eyewear color or finish,etc.

At block 618, the wearer modeling component 214 (or some other componentof the wearer model generation system 210 or some other system) canstore the 3D model and preference data as a wearer model for thespecific wearer. Illustratively, the wearer model may be stored in thewearer model data store 232.

In some embodiments, additional scans and/or data may be obtained for agiven wearer. For example, a pressure map of the wearer's face may begenerated by correlating a scan of a wearer with reference goggles to ascan of the wearer without reference goggles to determine the pressureexerted by a goggle faceplate against various points and/or regions ofthe wearer's face. The pressure map may identify soft and firm areas ofthe wearer's face to allow targeted customization of faceplate pressureto the most comfortable or otherwise desirable areas of the wearer'sface. As another example, head diameter and/or shape of the posteriorportion of the wearer's head may be determined for use in generatingcustomized helmets, head bands, wrap-around earstems, or other headgear.As a further example, the wearer's range of eye motion and/orrelationship between eye motion and head motion may be determined. Suchdata may be useful in generating customized lenses.

Illustrative Process for Producing Customized Eyewear

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process 1100 for producingcustomized eyewear for individual wearers. Advantageously, the process1100 may use an eyewear model of an individual eyewear style and awearer model of an individual wearer to determine how the eyewear is tobe customized for the wearer, without requiring manual adjustments,trial-and-error, etc.

The process 1100 may be embodied in a set of executable programinstructions stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia, such as one or more disk drives or solid-state memory devices ofthe eyewear customization system 220 shown in FIG. 2. When the process1100 or some portion thereof is initiated at block 1102, the executableprogram instructions can be loaded into memory, such as RAM, andexecuted by one or more processors of a computing system. In someembodiments, a computing system may include multiple computing devices,such as servers, and the process 1100 or portions thereof may beexecuted by multiple servers serially or in parallel. In someembodiments, the process 1100 or portions thereof may be performed by,or using input from, technicians using software executing on one or morecomputing devices.

At block 1104, the customization modeling component 224 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can apply deflection to components of the eyewear model to achieve thedesired head force with respect to the individual wearer's head. Thedeflection may include deflection of the earstems, frame, and/or othercomponents of the eyewear such that the eyewear model will accuratelyreflect the state of the eyewear during normal use by the wearer.

At block 1106, the customization modeling component 224 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can combine eyewear baseline weighting and wearer preference weightingto determine the final weights to be used when applying customizationsto the current eyewear. In some embodiments, combining the baseline andwearer preference weighting may include averaging the baseline andwearer preference weighting for each weight (e.g., eye location, browlocation, brow offset, cheek offset, etc.). For example, the baselineweighting may tend to bias any customizations toward the baseline valuesfor various parameters, rather than permitting application ofwearer-preferred customizations in full. In some embodiments, ratherthan combining the weighting or otherwise biasing the customizationstoward the baseline values, a limit to wearer preferences may beapplied. For example, a wearer preference regarding a particular offsetof an eyewear component with respect to a particular facial feature maybe applied, up to a limit, without any baseline weighting and withoutany bias toward baseline values for the offset.

At block 1108, the customization modeling component 224 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can determine the positioning of the eyewear model on the wearer model.The customization modeling component 224 can use the planes, referencespoints, and other position data described above to align the eyewearmodel properly with the wearer model.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate an example of aligning an eyewear model1200 to a wearer model 1000. The customization modeling component 224may identify the eyewear center plane 1202 of the eyewear model 1200,and align it to the scan vertical center plane 1002 of the wearer model1000. As shown in FIG. 12B, the eyewear model 1200 may then be alignedwith the wearer model 1000 via alignment of the eyewear center plane1202 with the scan vertical center plane 1002 (e.g., the position of theeyewear model 1200 may be adjusted such that the eyewear center plane1202 is coplanar with the scan vertical center plane 1002). The eyewearmodel 1200 may then be pivoted about the ear pivot axis of the wearermodel 1000 until a desired alignment is achieved between points of theeyewear model 1200 and eyewear positing planes of the wearer model, suchas the eye plane and brow plane.

In some embodiments, an eyewear model 1200 may be aligned to a wearermodel 1000 automatically or substantially automatically based on acommon coordinate system and reference point(s). In this manner, theeyewear model 1200 may be aligned to the wearer model 1000 withoutperforming some or all of the processes described above with respect toFIGS. 12A and 12B. For example, the origin point 912 of a wearer's head,shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, may be determined. The eyewear model 1200 maybe positioned with respect to the wearer model 1000 such that a pointmidway between the earstems of the eyewear model 1200 (e.g., on theeyewear center plane 1202) may be automatically aligned with the originpoint 912. In addition, the eyewear model 1200 may be pivoted around anaxis through the origin point 912 and orthogonal to the eyewear centerplane 1202 until the eyewear model 1200 is located at a desired distancefrom particular points on the wearer model 1000 (e.g., eye corners,fiducials for horizontal alignment, etc.). The offsets betweenparticular points on the wearer model 1000 and particular points on theeyewear model 1200 may be identified by metadata associated with theeyewear model 1200, and may have been determined based on trials andobservations of physical eyewear samples on test wearers. In someembodiments, the offsets may be determined based on wearer-specificpreferences, or on some combination of eyewear model metadata andwearer-specific preferences.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of various offsets between the eyewearmodel 1200 and the wearer model 1000. As shown, the eyewear model 1200has been aligned with the wearer model 1000 (e.g., using one of themethods described above). The eyewear model 1200 may then be positionedsuch that the brow offset 1310 (e.g., the distance between a particularreference point 1302 of the eyewear model 1200 and a reference point1304 on the brow of the wearer model 1000) is achieved. The eyewearmodel 1200 may also be positioned such that the cheek offset 1312 (e.g.,the distance between a particular reference point 1306 of the eyewearmodel 1200 and a reference point 1308 on the cheek of the wearer model1000) is achieved. The brow offset 1310 and/or cheek offset 1312 (or anyother offset) may be the baseline offsets determined for the eyewearduring the eyewear modeling process. In some embodiments, the browoffset 1310 and/or cheek offset 1312 may be based on the baselineoffsets and adjusted based on preferences of the specific wearer. Forexample, a wearer may prefer a cheek offset 1312 that is slightly largerthan the baseline cheek offset. In some cases, a customization targetedat one fit parameter may interfere with another fit parameter. Forexample, a wearer may prefer a cheek offset 1312 that would result in abrow offset 1310 that is too small (e.g., a wearer prefers glasses to bevery close to the cheeks, but for a particular eyewear style thisplacement would result in the glasses touching the user's brows). Insuch cases, weights may be applied to the conflicting parameters, asdescribed in greater detail above with respect to FIG. 3, to determine acustomization that keeps all parameters within preferred limits butstill implements the wearer's preferences to some degree.

In some embodiments, a single minimum offset may be used instead of, orin addition to, the offsets described above or any other offset. Forexample, a minimum offset may be predetermined or dynamicallydetermined, and no portion of the eyewear with the exception of thenosepiece (e.g., the orbitals, lenses, and earstem hinges) may comewithin the minimum offset distance of the wearer's eyes, nose, cheeks,brows, and/or other facial structures and surfaces. In some embodiments,the minimum offset may be between about 1 mm and about 3 mm, or betweenabout 1.75 mm and about 2.25 mm. In some embodiments the minimum offsetmay be about 2.0 mm. Depending upon the facial structure of theparticular wearer, the minimum offset may affect the location at whichdifferent portions of the eyewear may be positioned. For example, inwearers with prominent cheeks and/or flatter noses, the minimum offsetmay define the final location of the orbitals and/or lenses with respectto the wearer's cheeks, while no other portion of the eyewear encroacheswithin the minimum offset of any other portion of the wearer's face. Asanother example, in wearers with a prominent brow line, the minimumoffset may define the final location of the orbitals and/or lenses withrespect to the wearer's brows, while no other portion of the eyewearencroaches within the minimum offset of any other portion of thewearer's face.

After alignment and positioning of the eyewear model 1200, the nosepiece1204 may contact or intersect the wearer's nose, or the nosepiece 1204may be spaced from the wearer's nose. The nosepiece 1204 may then bemodified, as described in greater detail below, to maintain the desiredalignment and positioning. In some embodiments, rather than modifyingthe nosepiece, a modular nosepiece may be selected from a set ofavailable modular nosepieces that each have different sizes and shapes(e.g., different thicknesses and/or different surface contours). Forexample, each modular nosepiece may be designed or otherwise associatedwith a different set or “bucket” of fit parameters. The modularnosepiece that provides a fit closest to the desired fit modeled abovemay be selected and installed onto the eyewear. In some embodiments, themodular nosepiece may be a nosepiece only, or may include some or theentire portion between the eyewear orbitals (the “bridge”).

At block 1110, the customization modeling component 224 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can determine various customizations to the eyewear in order to maintainthe desired positioning, alignment, and orientation of the eyewear modelwith respect to the wearer model. For example, the eyewear model mayintersect or cross one or more boundaries of the wearer model (e.g., thegeometric space occupied by the nosepiece of the eyewear model mayoverlap with the geometric space occupied by the wearer's nose of thewearer model). In such cases, the overlapping or intersecting portion ofthe eyewear model may be altered or removed (e.g., by performing a“Boolean subtraction” in which the overlapping portion of the geometricspace occupied by the nosepiece of the eyewear model and the nose of thewearer model is removed from the eyewear model). After the removalprocess, the remainder of the eyewear model conforms to the contours ofthe wearer model without intersecting the boundaries of the wearermodel. As another example, there may be an undesirable offset or “gap”between a portion of the eyewear and the wearer model (e.g., thenosepiece may not touch the wearer's nose). In such cases, a portion ofthe eyewear model may be expanded until a threshold or desired about ofsurface contact is achieved with a portion of the wearer model. Theexpanded portion of the eyewear model may not be expanded uniformly, butmay instead be expanded such that the surface contours of the expandedportion complement the surface contours of the wearer model. In someembodiments, a portion of the eyewear model may be expanded uniformlyuntil a threshold or desired amount of surface contact can be achievedvia Boolean subtraction, as described above.

FIGS. 14A 14B, and 14C illustrate an example customization to anosepiece 1402 of an eyewear model 1400. A target surface area 1410 maybe identified on the wearer model 1000. The target surface area maycorrespond to an area, between the nasion plan 1010 and rearward nasionplane 1012, at which the nosepiece will be modified or selected tocontact the user. The target surface area may be a predetermined ordynamically determined size. For example, the target surface area may bea particular size between about 40 mm² and about 120 mm², or betweenabout 70 mm² and about 90 mm². In some embodiments, the target surfacearea may be about 80 mm². If a wearer's tear duct sphere 1016 extends inan anterior direction past the rearward nasion plane 1012 and toward thenasion plane 1010, the target area 1410 may be determined such that itexcludes or otherwise does not encroach upon any portion of the tearduct sphere 1016. Thus, depending upon the facial structure of thewearer, the target area 1410 may extend from the nasion plane 1010 allthe way to the rearward nasion plane 1012 alone, from the nasion plane1010 to the tear duct sphere 1016 alone, from the nasion plane 1010 toboth the rearward nasion plane 1012 and tear duct sphere 1016, or tosome point anterior of both the rearward nasion plane 1012 and tear ductsphere 1016 (e.g., there may be enough area posterior of the nasionplane 1010 for a target area of maximum desirable size without extendingall the way to the rearward nasion plane 1012 and tear duct sphere1016).

As shown in FIG. 14B, there may be a gap between the target surface area1410 of the wearer model and the nosepiece 1402. The nosepiece 1402 maytherefore be expanded, as shown in FIG. 14C, such that the nosepiece1402 contacts the target surface area 1410 and conforms to the surfacecontours of the target surface area 1410. In some embodiments, thecustomization process may begin with an eyewear model that has theminimum amount of allowable material in the nosepiece region. The modelof the nosepiece may be expanded away from the eyewear frame and towardthe target surface area 1410 until contact with substantially all or athreshold amount of the target surface area 1410 is achieved, as shownin FIG. 14C. In other embodiments, the customization process may beginwith a default nosepiece, such as a nosepiece designed for a wearer withan average or typical facial structure. The nosepiece model may then bemorphed from its default state until contact with substantially all or athreshold amount of the target surface area 1410 is achieved. Forexample, the nosepiece or portions thereof may be stretched, splayed,tilted, rotated, expanded, contracted, or otherwise morphed to achievethe desired contact with the target surface area 1410. Each of themorphing operations, or some subset thereof, may be associated withminimum and/or maximum deviations from the default nosepiece geometry. Asingle nosepiece may be customized using a single morphing operation ora combination of multiple morphing operations to achieve the desiredcontact with the target surface area 1410. In some embodiments, anautomated rule-based process may be performed in which individualmorphing operations are performed to various degrees before applyingother morphing operations in a predetermined or dynamically determinedorder until the desired contact with the target surface area isachieved.

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate another example customization to anosepiece of an eyewear model 1500. The customization is the result of aBoolean subtraction to the nosepiece of eyewear model. Regions 1502 havebeen reduced in size to conform to the surface contours of a wearer. Asshown in FIG. 15A, regions 1504 remain unmodified by the Booleansubtraction. FIG. 15B illustrates an additional modification to thenosepieces of the eyewear model 1500, but in this case the modificationmay be stylistic rather than functional. As shown, regions 1506 may beremoved from the sides of the nosepieces that do not touch the wearer'snose. This modification may be done for aesthetic reasons, to reduce theamount of material that was originally available for customization(e.g., the nosepieces may have been originally defined to be largeenough to accommodate wearers with wider noses, and the extra materialis no longer needed after a customization is made for a wearer with anose that is less than the maximum width accommodated by thenosepieces).

In some embodiments, a nosepiece may not be designed to contact wearers'noses at multiple places spaced from each other (e.g., on the left andright side of the nose), but may instead be designed to contact wearers'noses at only one place (e.g., the nasion), or on both sides of thewearer's nose and across the wearer's nasion. In such cases, a dermalcontact area of the nosepiece or some portion thereof (e.g., a supportdevice such as a ligature) may be customized to complement the contoursof a particular wearer's nasion.

FIGS. 15C and 15D illustrate another example customization to anosepiece of an eyewear model 1500. The customization may be appliedwhen, e.g., a wearer's nose and/or eyes are not symmetrical with respectto the wearer's sagittal plane or the scan vertical center plane 1002.As shown in FIG. 15C, the wearer's nose is not centered between thewearer's eyes. Thus, when the eyewear model 1500 is aligned with thewearer model such that the nosepiece of the eyewear model is contactingthe target surface area of the wearer's nose, a distance 1520 between afirst tear duct 906 and a first nosepiece side 1510 is greater than adistance 1522 between the wearer's other tear duct 906 and a secondnosepiece side 1512. When a wearer's face has this type of asymmetricalstructure, the nosepiece may be customized to accommodate the asymmetryand ensure that the wearer's straight ahead line of sight from each eyeintersects each respective lens at a desired location, or within athreshold distance of the desired location. As shown in FIG. 15D, thesize 1524 of the first nosepiece side 1514 has been enlarged withrespect to the size 1526 of the second nosepiece side 1516. Thisenlargement of the size of one nosepiece side with respect to the otherreduces the difference between distance 1520 and distance 1522, andbrings the eyes closer to a desired location with respect to the lensesof the eyewear. In some embodiments, in order to prevent undesirableextreme asymmetries in the eyeglass, the size of one nosepiece side mayonly be enlarged up to a maximum size. The maximum may be a particularsize between about 1 mm and about 2 mm; in some cases, the maximum sizemay be about 1.5 mm.

At decision block 1112, the customization modeling component 224 (orsome other component of the eyewear customization system 220 or someother system) can determine whether the eyewear parameters are withinthe eyewear customization envelope. If not, then process 1100 proceedsto block 1114, and the particular style of eyewear is not available tobe customized for the wearer. In some embodiments, the determination atdecision block 1112 may be overridden. For example, the customizationsmay be modified to bring them within the customization envelope, eventhough the customizations may not be entirely optimal or desirable forthe wearer. If the customizations are within the envelope of eyewearcustomization, then the process 1100 may proceed to block 1116, and theparticular style of eyewear is available for the current wearer andcustomization preferences.

At block 1118, the customization modeling component 224 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can model the undeflected state of the eyewear. The undeflected stategenerally corresponds to the state of the eyewear when not worn by awearer, and therefore there is little or no pressure or deflection ofthe earstems, frame, and/or other eyewear components. As describedabove, the stiffness matrix or some other data set can be used to applythe expected headforce in reverse to the customized eyewear model. Theforces can applied in reverse to predict or simulate an undeflectedstate that will result in a desired degree of deflection in the as-wornstate when worn by a particular wearer (e.g., a wearer with a particularhead size that spreads the earstems apart by a particular amount).

At block 1120, the eyewear production component 226 (or some othercomponent of the eyewear customization system 220 or some other system)can generate the customized eyewear (or specific components of thecustomized eyewear). Eyewear or a component thereof may be generated(e.g., manufactured) using an additive process, such as 3D printing. Forexample, a nosepiece may be created from scratch, or the nosepiece maybe created through addition of material to a “blank” or base component,a structure that facilitates attachment with an eyewear frame, etc. Insome embodiments, a component of eyewear may be manufactured using asubtractive process. For example, a blank or base component thatcorresponds to the maximum dimensions of a nosepiece may be used as astarting point from which material is removed to achieve the desiredcustomizations. In other embodiments, a modular nosepiece may beselected from a set of available modular nosepieces. The modularnosepiece that provides a fit closest to the desired fit modeled abovemay be selected and installed onto the eyewear. The modular nosepiecemay be a nosepiece only, or may include some or the entire portionbetween the eyewear orbitals (the “bridge”). Regardless of whether thenosepiece is selected or created using one of the aforementionedprocesses or using some other process, the end product nosepiece may besized and/or contoured such that the dermal contact area of thenosepiece (e.g., the portion that comes in contact with the skin onwearer's nose during regular use) conforms closely to the surfacecontours and features of a portion of the wearer's nose. In some cases,the nosepiece may exhibit bilateral asymmetry to complement a bilateralasymmetry of a wearer's face and position the eyewear in an optimal ordesired orientation on the wearer's face.

Additional Embodiments

In accordance with a further aspect of the present inventions, eyewearmay be customized to fit the wearer's face and also optimize opticstaking into account the final frame orientation on the wearer's face.The wearer can be considered to have a right and left straight aheadnormal line of sight, extending outward from the wearer's left and righteyes in an anterior direction through the right and left pupillarycenter, respectively. The right straight ahead normal line of sight, forexample, crosses the center of the right pupil and lies along theintersection of a vertical plane parallel to the wearer's centralsagittal plane, and a horizontal plane which is parallel to the wearer'scentral transverse plane. The left and right eye lines of sight mayreside on different transverse planes and/or at different distances fromthe central sagittal plane, as a result of wearer to wearer asymmetriesas has been discussed. These asymmetries and the resulting correction offrame position may need to be compensated for through the lens geometryand/or orientation in order to reduce optical distortion as describedbelow. Preferably the lens geometry and orientation will be selected tocompensate for eyewear position in the as-worn orientation such that theoptical centerline (in either Rx or plano eyewear) is maintainedsubstantially parallel to the wearer's straight ahead normal line ofsight as determined on the 3D model and described above.

In some embodiments, an eyewear frame may be configured such that whenthe eyewear frame is in a default non-stressed configuration (e.g., noton a wearer's head), the optical centerlines of the lenses may not beable to be aligned with or substantially parallel to the wearer'srespective straight ahead normal lines of sight if the wearer were ableto look through the lenses without changing the default non-stressedconfiguration of the eyewear frame. However, when the eyewear frame isplaced in an as-worn stressed configuration (e.g., on a wearer's head),the eyewear frames or portions thereof may become deflected from theirpositions in the default non-stressed configuration. This deflection cancause the optical centerlines of the lenses to become aligned with orsubstantially parallel to the wearer's straight ahead normal line ofsight. Due to wearer-to-wearer differences in face and head geometry,the as-worn stressed configuration for one wearer may be different thanthat of another wearer. Therefore, differences in the defaultnon-stressed configurations of eyewear frames may be required in orderto produce the proper as-worn stressed configurations for differentwearers. In some embodiments, lens geometry and orientation may beselected to configure a lens with different portions corresponding todifferent powers (e.g., bifocal lenses, trifocal lenses, progressivemultifocal lenses, etc.) such that different lines of sight are alignedwith portions corresponding to different powers. For example, aprogressive lens may have a first portion corresponding to adistance-vision power, a second portion corresponding to a near-visionpower, and a progressive lens power transition corridor extendingbetween the first and second portions. The progressive lens may beconfigured or oriented within an eyewear frame (or the eyewear frame maybe configured) such that individual progressive lens powers are alignedwith the corresponding individual lines of sight of a wearer in theas-worn configuration.

FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a lens blank 222, a convex outsidesurface 236 of which generally conforms to a portion of the surface of athree-dimensional geometric shape 224. It will be understood by those ofskill in this art that lenses in accordance with the present inventionsmay conform to any of a variety of geometric shapes.

Preferably, the outside surface of the lens will conform to a shapehaving a smooth, continuous surface having a constant horizontal radius(sphere or cylinder) or progressive curve (ellipse, toroid or ovoid) orother aspheric shape in either the horizontal or vertical planes. Thegeometric shape 224 of some embodiments herein described, however,generally approximates a sphere.

The sphere 224 illustrated in FIGS. 16A and 16B is an imaginarythree-dimensional solid walled structure, a portion of the wall of whichis suitable from which to cut a lens 220. As is known in the art,precision lens cutting is often accomplished by producing a lens blank222 from which a lens 220 is ultimately cut. However, it should be clearto those of skill in the art from the illustrations of FIGS. 16A and16B, that the use of a separate lens blank is optional, and the lens 220may be molded directly into its final shape and configuration ifdesired.

It can also be seen from FIGS. 16A and 16B that the lens 220 and/or thelens blank 222 can be positioned at any of a variety of locations alongthe sphere 224. For the purpose of the present disclosure, the opticalcenterline 232 operates as a reference line for orientation of the lens220 with respect to the sphere 224. In the illustrated embodiment,wherein both the outside surface and the inside surface conform to aportion of a sphere, the optical centerline is defined as the line 232which joins the two centers C1 and C2. The analogous reference line forthe purpose of non-spherical lens geometry may be formed in a mannerdifferent than connection of the two geometric centers of the spheres,as will be apparent to one of skill in the art.

The lens 220 is ultimately formed in such a manner that it retains thegeometry of a portion of the wall of the sphere as illustrated in FIG.16B. The location of the lens 220 on the sphere 224 is selected suchthat when the lens 220 is oriented in the eyeglass frame, the calculatednormal line of sight 230 of the wearer through the lens as determined bythe wearer model will be maintained generally in parallel to the opticalcenterline 232 of the geometric configuration from which the lens 220was obtained. In the illustration of FIGS. 16A and 16B, the lens 220 isa right lens which has a significant degree of wrap, as well as somedegree of downward rake (indicated by the as-worn normal line of sightcrossing the sphere 224 below the optical centerline 230). A lens havinga different shape, or a lesser degree of wrap may overlap the opticalcenterline 232 of the imaginary sphere 224 from which the lens wasformed. However, whether the optical centerline of the imaginary sphere224 crosses through the lens 220 or not is unimportant, so long as theline of sight 230 in the lens 220 is maintained generally in parallel inthe as-worn orientation with the optical centerline 232.

Similarly, if the lens is to have no rake or upward rake in the as-wornorientation, the normal line of sight (and the entire lens) would crossthe sphere 224 at or above the central horizontal meridian whichcontains the optical centerline. The spatial distance and position ofthe ultimate normal line of sight 230 relative to the optical centerline232 therefore indicates the degree of wrap (by horizontal distance) andrake (by vertical distance). However, regardless of the distancesinvolved, the lens will exhibit minimal optical distortion as long asthe normal line of sight 230 is offset from but maintained substantiallyparallel to the optical centerline 232 preferably in both the horizontaland vertical planes.

For purposes of the present disclosure, “substantially parallel” shallmean that the calculated line of sight 230 when the lens 220 is orientedin the as-worn position generally does not deviate within the horizontalor vertical plane by more than about ±5° from parallel to the opticalcenterline 232. Preferably, the normal line of sight 230 should notdeviate by more than about ±4° from the optical centerline 232, morepreferably the normal line of sight 230 deviates by no more than about±2° and most preferably no more than about ±1° from parallel to theoptical centerline 232. Optimally, the line of sight 230 is parallel tothe optical centerline in the as-worn orientation, in the theoreticalmathematical model although some variation may exist in the actualphysical product worn by a wearer.

Variations from parallel in the horizontal plane generally have agreater negative impact on the optics than variations from parallel inthe vertical plane. Accordingly, the solid angle between the line ofsight 230 and optical centerline 232 in the vertical plane may exceedthe ranges set forth above, for some eyewear, as long as the horizontalcomponent of the angle of deviation is within the above-mentioned rangesof deviation from the parallel orientation. Preferably, the line ofsight 230 deviates in the vertical plane no more than about ±3° and,more preferably, no more than about ±1° from the optical centerline inthe as-worn orientation.

FIG. 16B is a cutaway view of the lens 220, lens blank 222, andgeometric shape 224 of FIG. 16A. This view shows that the preferredgeometric shape 224 is hollow with walls of varying thickness, asrevealed by a horizontal cross-section 234 at the optical centerline ofthe geometric shape 224.

The tapered walls of the preferred geometric shape 224 result from twohorizontally offset spheres, represented by their center points C1 andC2 and radii R1 and R2. An outer surface 236 of the preferred lens blank222 conforms to one sphere (of radius R1) while an inner surface 238 ofthe lens blank 222 conforms to the other sphere (of radius R2). Byadjusting the parameters which describe the two spheres, the nature ofthe taper of the lens blank 222 may also be adjusted.

In particular, the parameters for the two spheres to which the lensblank outer surface 236 and inner surface 238 conform is preferablychosen to produce minimal or zero refractive power, or nonprescriptionlenses. Where CT represents a chosen center thickness (maximum thicknessof the wall of the hollow geometric shape 224), n is an index ofrefraction of the lens blank material, R1 is set by design choice forthe curvature of the outer surface 236, R2 may be determined accordingto the following equation:

$\begin{matrix}{R_{2} = {R_{1} - {CT} + \frac{CT}{n}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

CT/n represents the separation of the spherical centers C1 and C2. Forexample, where a base 6 lens is desired as a matter of design choice,the center thickness is chosen to be 3 mm, and the index of refractionof the preferred material (polycarbonate) is 1.586, R2 may be determinedas follows:

$\begin{matrix}{R_{2} = {{\frac{530}{6} - 3 + \frac{3}{1.586}} = {87.225\mspace{14mu} {mm}}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

For this example, the radius R1 of the outer surface 236 is equal to88.333 mm, the radius R2 of the inner surface 238 is equal to 87.225 mm,and the spherical centers C1 and C2 are separated by 1.892 mm. Theseparameters describe the curvature of the lens blank 222 of a preferreddecentered spherical embodiment.

In some embodiments, the optical centerline 232 is that line whichpasses through both center points C1 and C2 of the offset spheres. Thishappens to pass through the thickest portion of the preferredgeometrical shape 224 walls at an optical center 240, though this maynot be true for alternative non-spherical embodiments. The opticalcenter line 232 happens to pass through surface 236 of the illustratedlens blank 222, although this is not necessary. The optical center 240does not happen to lie on the lens 220, although it may for largerlenses or lenses intended to exhibit less wrap in the as-wornorientation.

FIG. 17A illustrates a horizontal cross-section of a lens 220, showingin phantom the geometric shape 224 to which the outer surface 236 andinner surface 238 conform. The lens blank 222 is omitted from thisdrawing. In accordance with some embodiments, the optical centerline 232associated with the chosen orientation is aligned to be generallyparallel to but offset from the straight ahead normal line of sight 230of the wearer as the lens 220 is to be mounted in an eyeglass frame.

FIG. 17B illustrates a vertical cross-section of the lens 220, alsoshowing in phantom the geometric shape 224 to which the outer surface236 and inner surface 238 conform. Unlike the horizontal view of FIG.17A, the projection of the optical centerline 232 onto a vertical plane(i.e., the vertical component of the optical centerline 232) appears topass through the vertical profile of the preferred lens 220. In anycase, the vertical component of the optical centerline 232 associatedwith the chosen taper is also aligned to be generally parallel with thenormal line of sight 230 of the wearer in the as-worn orientation.

Thus, in addition to providing optically correct lenses for dual lenseyewear with a high degree of wrap, some embodiments may provideoptically corrected lenses for eyewear characterized by a degree ofrake. The terms “rake” and “optically correct” are further definedbelow.

In general, “rake” will be understood to describe the condition of alens, in the as-worn orientation, for which the normal line of sight 230(see FIG. 17B) strikes a vertical tangent to the lens 220 at anon-perpendicular angle. For optically corrected eyewear in accordancewith some embodiments, however, the normal line of sight to a raked lensis generally parallel to and vertically offset from the opticalcenterline. Therefore, the degree of rake in a correctly oriented lensmay be measured by the distance which the normal line of sight isvertically displaced from the optical centerline.

For a centrally oriented lens, as shown in FIG. 19B, the wearer's lineof sight coincides with the optical centerline, thus displaying novertical displacement. While such a lens may be optically corrected (asdefined below) in the as-worn orientation, the lens does not have rake.FIG. 19C shows a lens orientation which is downwardly tilted or raked,but for which the optical centerline and the normal line of sight arehighly divergent such that no “displacement” could meaningfully bemeasured. While such a lens may have downward rake in a conventionalsense, advantageously providing downward protection for the eye andconforming to the wearer's face, it is not optically corrected.

In contrast, the normal line of sight through a raked lens, made inaccordance with some embodiments, is characterized by a finite verticaldisplacement from the optical centerline, preferably a downwarddisplacement for downward rake. Where the optical centerline divergesfrom the normal line of sight within the acceptable angular ranges setforth above, this displacement should be measured at or near the lenssurface. The displacement may range from about any nonzero displacementto about 8.0 inches. Lenses of lower base curvature may require agreater displacement in order to achieve good rake. The verticaldisplacement for a lens of base 6 curvature, however, should be betweenabout 0.1 inch and about 2.0 inches. More preferably, the verticaldisplacement is between about 0.1 inch and about 1.0 inch, particularlybetween about 0.25 inch and about 0.75 inch, and most preferably about0.5 inch.

“Optically correct,” as that term has been used in the presentdescription, refers to a lens which demonstrates relatively lowdistortion as measured by one or more of the following values in theas-worn orientation: prismatic distortion, refractive power andastigmatism. Raked lenses in accordance with some embodimentsdemonstrate at least as low as ¼ diopters or 3/16 diopters and typicallyless than about ⅛ diopters prismatic distortion, preferably less thanabout 1/16 diopters, and more preferably less than about 1/32 diopters.Refractive power and astigmatism for lenses in accordance with someembodiments are also preferably low. Each of refractive power andastigmatism are also at least as low as ¼ diopters or 3/16 diopters andpreferably less than about ⅛ diopters, more preferably less than about1/16 diopters and most preferably less than about 1/32 diopters.

It will be understood by the skilled artisan that the advantages inminimizing optical distortion apply to both the horizontal and thevertical dimensions. Particular advantage is derived by applying theprinciples taught herein to both vertical and horizontal dimensions ofthe lens, enabling the combination of lateral and lower peripheralprotection of the eyes (through wrap and rake) with excellent opticalquality over the wearer's full angular range of vision.

Furthermore, although the principal embodiments described herein are ofconstant radius in both the horizontal and vertical cross-section, avariety of lens configurations in both planes are possible inconjunction with some embodiments. Thus, for example, either the outeror the inner or both surfaces of the lens of some embodiments maygenerally conform to a spherical shape as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B.Alternatively either the outer or the inner or both surfaces of the lensmay conform to a right circular cylinder, a frusto-conical, an ellipticcylinder, an ellipsoid, an ellipsoid of revolution, other sphere or anyof a number of other three dimensional shapes. Regardless of theparticular vertical or horizontal curvature of one surface, however, theother surface should be chosen such as to minimize one or more of power,prism and astigmatism of the lens in the mounted and as-wornorientation.

FIGS. 18-20B will aid in describing a method of choosing a location onthe lens blank 222 from which to cut the right lens 220, in accordancewith some embodiments. It will be understood that a similar method wouldbe used to construct the left lens for the dual lens eyewear of someembodiments.

As a first step, a desired general curvature of the lens inner or outersurface 238, 236 may be chosen. For the preferred lens 220, this choicedetermines the base value of the lens blank 222. As noted elsewhereherein, a number of other curvatures may be utilized in conjunction withsome embodiments. A choice of lens thickness may also be preselected. Inparticular, the minimum thickness may be selected such that the lenswill withstand a preselected impact force.

A desired lens shape may also be chosen. For example, FIGS. 4A and 9Aillustrate examples of front elevational shapes for the lens 220. Theparticular shape chosen is generally not relevant to the orienteddecentered lens optics disclosed herein.

A desired as-worn orientation for the lens should also be chosen,relative to the normal line of sight 230 of the wearer 226. As mentionedabove, preferred orientations may provide significant lateral wrap forlateral protection and interception of peripheral light, and foraesthetic reasons, and also some degree of downward rake. For example,the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 15-20B uses a canted lens 220 toachieve wrap. Alternatively, wrap may be achieved through use of ahigher base lens and a more conventional (noncanted) orientation. FIGS.18 and 19A-19C illustrate more plainly how the orientations may berelated to the line of sight 230 of the wearer.

The eyewear designer may also choose a degree of rake, or vertical tilt,as will be understood from FIGS. 19A-19C, schematically illustratingvarious vertical as-worn orientations of a lens, relative to the head ofthe wearer 226. FIG. 19A illustrates the preferred orientation of thelens 220 relative to the head of the wearer 226, and relative inparticular to the straight ahead normal line of sight 230. A downwardrake, as illustrated in FIG. 19A, is desirable for a variety of reasons,including improved conformity to common head anatomy. As will beapparent to those of skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein,a lens 220 having a mechanical center point which falls below thehorizontal plane intersecting the optical centerline 232 (see FIG. 16B)will permit the lens to be oriented with a downward rake as illustratedin FIGS. 19A-19C and yet preserve a generally parallel relationshipbetween the optical centerline and the straight ahead line of sight.Since the orientation of the lens 220 to the optical centerline 232 inthe imaginary sphere should be the same as the orientation between thelens 220 and a parallel to the normal line of sight 230 in the as-wornorientation, any lens cut from this sphere below the optical centerline232 can be mounted with a corresponding degree of downward rake andachieve the optical correction of the present inventions.

Accordingly, the desired degree of rake may be chosen by specifying avertical component of the displacement between the normal line of sight230 and the optical centerline 232, as illustrated in FIG. 19A. Eitherway, the greater the displacement, the greater the downward rake. Ingeneral, the vertical displacement in accordance with some embodimentswill be greater than zero. Generally it will be from about 0.1 inches toabout 2 inches depending upon base curvature. Preferably, verticaldisplacement will be from about 0.1 inches to about one inch, or about0.2 inches or greater. More preferably, it will be from about 0.25inches to about 0.75 inches and in one embodiment it was about 0.5inches.

Alternatively, a general profile may be chosen which fixes anorientation of the normal line of sight relative to the curvature of thelens (not accounting for the thickness of the lens). For instance, FIG.19A provides reference points of a top edge 252 and a bottom edge 254relative to the normal line of sight 230. This relationship may then beutilized to determine the position on a lens blank from which to cut thelens.

Referring now to FIG. 20A, a mapping of the horizontal orientation ofthe lens 220 onto the lens blank 222 is illustrated. The normal line ofsight 230, with respect to which the chosen orientation is measured, ismaintained substantially parallel to and offset from the opticalcenterline 232. The horizontal component of the displacement willgenerally be within the range of from about 0.1 inches to about 8 inchesfor lower base curvatures. Additional details relating to lensorientation can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,218, filed Nov. 7, 1996entitled Decentered Noncorrective Lens For Eyewear, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.

Referring now to FIG. 20B, a mapping of the vertical orientation of thelens 220 onto the lens blank 222 is illustrated. The normal line ofsight 230, with respect to which the chosen orientation is measured, ismaintained substantially parallel to and vertically offset from theoptical centerline 232. As discussed, when arranged in such anorientation, the lens 220 will exhibit minimal optical distortionrelative to the line of sight 230. Ideally, the frame 250 is shaped sothat when correctly worn, the optical centerline 232 is maintainedsubstantially parallel to the normal line of sight 230.

In the absence of correction as described herein, various factors mayalter the orientation of the true optical centerline 232 (asdistinguished from the 3D calculated optical centerline) relative to thewearer's line of sight 230 when the eyeglasses are actually worn. Forinstance, because eyeglasses rest on the wearer's nose, the particularnose shape affects the orientation of the lens relative to the line ofsight 230. For noses of different shapes and sizes, the line of sight230 may not always correctly align with the optical centerline 232 whenthe eyeglasses are worn. Additionally, different wearers may prefer toposition the eyeglasses on various points of the nose, causing the lensto orient differently for each wearer. Hence, although the frame may bedesigned to minimize optical distortion when the eyeglasses arecorrectly worn by a person with a particular nose shape, differences infacial geometry, differences in the distance between the points at whichthe earstems contact the wearer's head, and preferences in the style ofwearing the eyeglasses often result in vertical displacement of thelens, causing the optical centerline 232 to lose a parallel alignmentwith the line of sight 230 when the eyeglasses are actually worn. Leftand right pupillary centers may also be asymmetrical. Correction inaccordance with the present disclosure allows essentially perfectcorrection of the optics relative to the 3D computed headform geometry,which will normally translate into a high degree of optical correctionin each customized product when placed on the head of the wearer fromwhom the 3D headform dataset was captured.

FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate the customized correction of optical centerline alignment based one the degree to which individual wearers areexpected to deflect eyewear frames during normal use. The distancebetween the points at which earstems contact a particular wearer's headmay cause excessive or insufficient deflection of the frame in theas-worn configuration. Such excessive or insufficient deflection maycause the optical center line of a lens in the frame to become or remainmis-aligned with, or non-parallel to, the wearer's straight ahead normalline of sight. A second wearer with a different distance between pointsat which the earstems contact the second wearer's head may causesufficient deflection to the same frame, such that the optical centerline of the lens is aligned with or parallel to the second wearer'sstraight ahead normal line of sight in the as-worn configuration. Thus,by determining a particular default configuration for an eyewear framebased on the degree to which a particular wearer's head is expected todeflect the eyewear frame in the as-worn configuration, the alignment ofoptical center lines to straight ahead normal lines of site can becustomized and optimized for individual wearers.

FIG. 21A illustrates eyewear 2100 in a default or non-stressedconfiguration (e.g., as-manufactured and not currently on a wearer'shead). The eyewear includes a frame 2102 and at least one lens 2104. Awearer's straight ahead normal line of sight is shown extending throughthe lens 2104 in an anterior direction away from the eyewear 2100. Thestraight ahead line of sight is shown as though a wearer is able to lookthough the eyewear 2100 without changing the default configuration(e.g., without adding stress to the frame 2102, which would normallyoccur when the earstems 2106 are forced to extend away from each otherby the wearer's head in the as-worn configuration). In the defaultconfiguration, the optical center line of the lens 2014 is not alignedwith or substantially parallel to the wearer's straight ahead normalline of sight. Rather, due to the orientation and geometry of the lens,the optical center line extends away from the lens 2104 at an acuteangle with respect to the wearer's straight ahead normal line of sight,as described in greater detail above. For example, the optical centerline can be angled away from the straight ahead normal line of sight byat least about 1 degree, at least about 2 degrees, at least about 3degrees, at least about 4 degrees, at least about 5 degrees, or more,depending upon the degree of deflection expected when the eyewear 2100is in the as-worn configuration.

In some embodiments, the eyewear 2100 may have two lenses 2104, asshown, or two separate portions of a single lens that wraps around thefront of a wearer's face in front of both of the wearer's eyes. In thedefault configuration, the optical center line of each lens 2104 mayextend away from the respective lens 2104 at an acute angle with respectto the wearer's straight ahead normal line of sight from a correspondingeye. The specific angles formed by the left and right optical centerlines and corresponding left and right normal lines of sight,respectively, may be the same or may be different, depending upon thespecific lens geometry of the respective lenses (e.g., differentprescriptions for each eye), the specific alignment of each eye with thecorresponding orbital of the eyewear frame 2100, etc.

The angle alpha 2108 between the left optical center line and the rightoptical centerline may be a least about 2° or at least about 4° or 6° or10° or 12° or more in the default unstressed configuration in thehorizontal plane. For certain frame configurations the angle alpha 2108can be at least about 15° or 20° or more for certain wearers. The anglealpha 2108 in the default unstressed configuration may be built into thecustom eyewear in a variety of ways. For example, the radius ofcurvature of the front frame may be customized to the head of thewearer. Alternatively, the left and right lenses may be mounted withinthe orbitals at an orientation that cooperates with the frame geometryto locate the optical centerlines to produce the desired angle. Thereduction in, or elimination of, the angle alpha 2108 achieved bywearing the eyewear will be a function of various factors, includingframe and ear stem design as well as material selection. The desiredunstressed angle alpha 2108 for a given pair of glasses is selected tocooperate with the width of the head of the wearer for which the glasseshave been customized, such that when placed on the head of the wearerthe angle alpha 2108 is reduced or substantially eliminated as theanterior projections of the optical centerlines rotate medially (e.g.,toward parallel with each other and/or with corresponding normal linesof sight). The angle alpha 2108 and/or the angle(s) formed by theoptical center line(s) and respective line(s) of sight will generally bereduced by at least about 50%, preferably at least about 75% or 80% or90% or more upon placement of the eyeglass on the head of the intendedwearer.

FIG. 21B illustrates the eyewear 2100 of FIG. 21A in an as-worn stressedconfiguration (e.g., currently on a wearer's head). In the as-wornconfiguration, the wearer's head forces the earstems 2106 away from eachother. The force applied to the earstems can deflect the frame 2102 fromits default configuration. For example, the outward force applied to theearstems can increase the radius of the arc of the frame 2102 (e.g., theportion of the eyewear between the hinges or other points at which theearstems are attached to the frame 2102). The increase in the radius ofthe arc of the frame 2102 can reorient the lens 2104, therebyreorienting the optical center line of the lens 2104. If the appropriatearc radius is set for the frame 2102 in the default configuration (orthe lenses are placed within the frame at the correct angle), as shownin FIG. 21A, then the optical center line may become aligned with orsubstantially parallel to the straight ahead normal line of sight whenthe frame 2102 is in the as-worn configuration.

An eyewear model may be placed on a wearer model, and a degree ofdeflection to the eyewear frame 2102 may be determined based on thedistance between the points at which the earstems contact the wear'shead in the wearer model. The degree of deflection may be different fordifferent wearers and/or for different distances between points at whichearstems contact the wearers' heads. Once the as-worn configuration isdetermined for a particular wearer (or for a particular distance betweenpoints of contact with the earstems), a radius of an arc of the frame2102 may be determined. The radius may be determined such that theoptical center line of the lens 2104 is aligned with, or substantiallyparallel to, the wearer's straight ahead normal line of sight asrepresented by the wearer model. In some embodiments, the orientation ofthe lens 2104 may be adjusted within the frame 2102 instead of or inaddition to adjusting the radius of the arc of the frame 2102. Adjustingthe orientation of the lens 2104 within the frame 2102 may also bringthe optical center line of the lens 2104 in alignment with orsubstantially parallel to the wearer's straight ahead normal line ofsight.

After determination of an as-worn configuration of a frame 2102 for aparticular user that places the optical center line of the lens 2104 inalignment with or substantially parallel to the wearer's straight aheadnormal line of sight, the default configuration of the frame 2102 may bedetermined. In some embodiments, the default configuration may bedetermined by virtually applying an opposite force to the earstems 2106such that the frame 2102 returns to its default unstressedconfiguration, as shown in FIG. 21A. The determined defaultconfiguration may be the configuration in which the eyewear frame 2102is produced or customized to achieve.

In some embodiments, the deflection described herein may cause changesto the effective power of prescription lenses. Tables 1 and 2, below,provide example values for the change in power (“refractive powerdelta”) when eyewear undergoes deflection of a particular angle from thedefault undeflected state to the as-worn deflected state. Table 1 showsexample refractive power deltas realized over a range of powers wheneyewear with a particular set of specifications (e.g., base curve of 6,wrap angle of 5°, rake angle of 2.5°) undergoes a deflection of 1.25°.Table 2 shows example refractive power deltas realized over the samerange of powers when the same or similar eyewear undergoes a deflectionof 2.25°. The entries are illustratively only, and may be different fordifferent deflection angles or eyewear with different specifications(e.g., base curve of 9, wrap angle of 10° to 20°, rake angle of 5° to10°).

TABLE 1 Power −8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 Wrap Deflection Angle 1.25° 1.25°1.25° 1.25° 1.25° 1.25° 1.25° 1.25° 1.25° Sphere Compensated −7.96 −5.97−3.98 −1.99 0 2 3.99 5.99 7.99 Power Without Deflection SphereCompensated −7.94 −5.95 −3.97 −1.98 0 2 3.99 5.99 7.98 Power WithDeflection Refractive Power Delta 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0 0 0 0 −0.01

TABLE 2 Power −8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 Wrap Deflection Angle 2.25° 2.25°2.25° 2.25° 2.25° 2.25° 2.25° 2.25° 2.25° Sphere Compensated −7.96 −5.97−3.98 −1.99 0 2 3.99 5.99 7.99 Power Without Deflection SphereCompensated −7.91 −5.93 −3.95 −1.98 0 1.99 3.99 5.98 7.98 Power WithDeflection Refractive Power Delta 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.01 0 −0.01 0 −0.01−0.01

As shown, the refractive power delta experienced over a given deflectionangle generally decreases as the power is changed from −8 to 0 to +8.The decrease in refractive power delta is generally linear, although thedecrease may be smaller between positive powers than negative powers(e.g., in Table 2, the delta changes from 0 to −0.01 as the powerchanges from 0 to 8, whereas the delta changes from 0.05 to 0 as thepower changes from −8 to 0).

In some embodiments, the refractive power delta experienced over a givendeflection angle may be used to customize the prescription of lensesmounted in an eyewear frame. For example, the eyewear models and wearermodels described above may be used to determine that a particulareyewear frame is expected to deflect 2.25° for a particular wearer. Thewearer may have a prescription for −6 diopter powered lenses. Thus, tocompensate for the increase of 0.04 diopters in the deflected state(−5.97 to −5.93 as the frame moves from undeflected to deflected), thepower in the undeflected state can be reduced by 0.04. In this example,a power of about −6.01 in the undeflected state would produce thedesired power of about −5.97 in the deflected state. However, if thewearer has a prescription for −2 diopter powered lenses, power in theundeflected state would only be reduced by 0.01, rather than 0.04, tocompensate for the 0.01 power delta experienced by −2 diopter lenses.

Terminology

Depending on the embodiment, certain acts, events, or functions of anyof the processes or algorithms described herein can be performed in adifferent sequence, can be added, merged, or left out altogether (e.g.,not all described operations or events are necessary for the practice ofthe algorithm). Moreover, in certain embodiments, operations or eventscan be performed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threaded processing,interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processor cores or onother parallel architectures, rather than sequentially.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, routines, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein can be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations ofelectronic hardware and computer software. To clearly illustrate thisinterchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, and steps have been described abovegenerally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality isimplemented as hardware, or as software that runs on hardware, dependsupon the particular application and design constraints imposed on theoverall system. The described functionality can be implemented invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the disclosure.

Moreover, the various illustrative logical blocks and modules describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implementedor performed by a machine, such as a general purpose processor device, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A general purpose processor device can be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor device can be acontroller, microcontroller, or state machine, combinations of the same,or the like. A processor device can include electrical circuitryconfigured to process computer-executable instructions. In anotherembodiment, a processor device includes an FPGA or other programmabledevice that performs logic operations without processingcomputer-executable instructions. A processor device can also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. Although described herein primarily with respect todigital technology, a processor device may also include primarily analogcomponents. For example, some or all of the signal processing algorithmsdescribed herein may be implemented in analog circuitry or mixed analogand digital circuitry. A computing environment can include any type ofcomputer system, including, but not limited to, a computer system basedon a microprocessor, a mainframe computer, a digital signal processor, aportable computing device, a device controller, or a computationalengine within an appliance, to name a few.

The elements of a method, process, routine, or algorithm described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodieddirectly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processordevice, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside inRAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory,registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium. An exemplary storagemedium can be coupled to the processor device such that the processordevice can read information from, and write information to, the storagemedium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to theprocessor device. The processor device and the storage medium can residein an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative,the processor device and the storage medium can reside as discretecomponents in a user terminal.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,”“might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/orsteps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended toimply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required forone or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarilyinclude logic for deciding, with or without other input or prompting,whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to beperformed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,”“including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are usedinclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additionalelements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or”is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so thatwhen used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or”means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with thecontext as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may beeither X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z).Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and shouldnot, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at leastone of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.

While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointedout novel features as applied to various embodiments, it can beunderstood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in theform and details of the devices or algorithms illustrated can be madewithout departing from the spirit of the disclosure. Any structure,feature, step, or process disclosed herein in one embodiment can be usedseparately or combined with or used instead of any other structure,feature, step, or process disclosed in any other embodiment. Also, nostructure, feature, step, or processes disclosed herein is essential orindispensable; any may be omitted in some embodiments. The scope ofcertain embodiments disclosed herein is indicated by the appended claimsrather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come withinthe meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embracedwithin their scope.

Some aspects of the inventions are set forth in the following clauses:

1. A system for customizing an eyewear component, comprising:

-   -   an input for receiving data representative of a three        dimensional configuration of a portion of a wearer's face;    -   an input for receiving data representative of a desired position        where the wearer would like an eyewear frame to reside on the        wearer's face;    -   a processor for determining a change in configuration of an        eyewear component blank, which will allow the eyewear frame to        reside in the desired position; and    -   an eyewear component modifier for modifying the eyewear        component blank so that the frame will reside in the desired        position.

2. A system as in Clause 1, wherein the input for receiving datarepresentative of a three dimensional configuration comprises anelectrical connector.

3. A system as in Clause 1, wherein the input for receiving datarepresentative of a three dimensional configuration comprises a wirelesslink.

4. A system as in Clause 1, wherein the input for receiving datarepresentative of a three dimensional configuration comprises a cameraarray.

5. A system as in any of Clauses 1-4, wherein the eyewear componentblank modifier is configured to remove material from the eyewearcomponent blank.

6. A system as in any of Clauses 1-4, wherein the eyewear componentblank modifier is configured to add material to the eyewear componentblank.

7. A system as in any of Clauses 1-4, wherein the eyewear componentblank comprises a nosepiece blank.

8. A system as in any of Clauses 1-4, wherein the eyewear componentblank comprises an eyewear frame blank.

9. A method of making customized eyewear, comprising:

-   -   obtaining a data set representative of a three dimensional        configuration of a portion of a wearer's face;    -   obtaining a data set representative of a desired position where        the wearer would like eyewear to reside on the wearer's face;    -   determining a change in the configuration of a nose region on        the eyewear, to cause the eyewear to reside in the desired        position; and    -   modifying the nose region on the eyewear to cause the eyewear to        reside in the desired position.

10. A method as in Clause 9, wherein the obtaining a data setrepresentative of a three dimensional configuration of a portion of awearer's face step comprises obtaining data captured as photographicimages of the wearer.

11. A method as in Clauses 9 or 10, wherein the obtaining a data setrepresentative of a desired position step comprises capturing datarepresentative of the eyewear in the desired position relative to thedata set representative of the three dimensional configuration of theportion of the wearer's face.

12. A method as in Clauses 9, 10, or 11, wherein the determining stepcomprises determining a positive or negative variance between the noseregion and the three dimensional configuration of the portion of thewearer's face to position the eyewear in the desired position.

13. A method as in any of Clauses 9-12, wherein the modifying stepcomprises removing material from the nose region.

14. A method as in any of Clauses 9-12, wherein the modifying stepcomprises adding material to the nose region.

15. A method as in any of Clauses 9-12, wherein the modifying stepcomprises adding a nosepiece subassembly to the eyewear.

16. A method as in any of Clauses 9-15, wherein the eyewear comprises aneyeglass.

17. A method as in any of Clauses 9-15, wherein the eyewear comprises agoggle.

18. A three dimensional orientationally corrected eyeglass, comprising aframe, at least one lens, a left earstem, a right earstem and anonadjustable nosepiece, wherein the nosepiece comprises bilateralasymmetry configured to complement a bilateral asymmetry of a wearer'sface, to position the eyeglass in a preselected orientation on thewearer's face.

19. A three dimensional orientationally corrected eyeglass as in Clause18, wherein the eyeglass has a central horizontal plane which liessubstantially on a transverse plane extending through the wearer whenthe eyeglass is worn in the preselected corrected orientation.

20. A three dimensional orientationally corrected eyeglass as in Clauses18 or 19, wherein the eyeglass conforms to the surface of a threedimensional model representative of a wearer's head.

21. A three dimensional orientationally corrected eyeglass as in Clauses18, 19, or 20, further comprising at least one lens having an opticalcenterline.

22. A three dimensional orientationally corrected eyeglass as in Clause21, wherein the three dimensional model defines a calculated straightahead line of sight which crosses the center of a pupil and extends inan anterior posterior direction along the intersection of a verticalplane parallel to the model's central sagittal plane and a horizontalplane which is parallel to the model's central transverse plane, andwherein the optical centerline of the lens is substantially parallel tothe calculated straight ahead line of sight when the three dimensionalconfiguration of the eyeglass is positioned in the as-worn orientationon the three dimensional model representative of the wearer's head.

23. A nosepiece for eyeglasses, the nosepiece having left and rightdermal contact surfaces having a total surface area, wherein at least85% of the total dermal contact surface conforms to the threedimensional configuration of the corresponding surface of a wearer'snose.

24. A nosepiece as in Clause 23, wherein at least 95% of the totaldermal contact surface conforms to the three dimensional configurationof the corresponding surface of a wearer's nose.

25. A method of making a customized wearable device, comprising thesteps of:

-   -   obtaining a data set representative of a three dimensional        configuration of a portion of a wearer's body;    -   obtaining a data set representative of a desired position where        the wearer would like the wearable device to reside on the        wearer's body;    -   determining a change in the configuration of a surface on the        wearable device that brings the surface of the wearable device        into conformity with the data set representative of the three        dimensional configuration of the portion of the wearer's body;        and    -   modifying the surface on the wearable device cause the device to        conform to the data set representative of the three dimensional        configuration of the portion of the wearer's body in the desired        position.

26. A method of making a customized wearable device as in Clause 25,wherein the wearable device comprises a head worn device.

27. A method of making a customized wearable device as in Clause 26,wherein the wearable device comprises a helmet.

28. A method of making a customized wearable device as in Clause 26,wherein the wearable device comprises an eyeglass.

29. A method of making a customized wearable device as in Clause 26,wherein the wearable device comprises a goggle.

30. An eyeglass comprising a frame, at least one lens having an opticalcenterline, a left earstem, and a right earstem,

-   -   wherein a wearer model corresponding to a three dimensional        model of at least a portion of a wearer's head defines a        calculated straight ahead line of sight which crosses a center        of a pupil and extends in an anterior posterior direction along        an intersection of a vertical plane parallel to the wearer        model's central sagittal plane and a horizontal plane which is        parallel to the wearer model's central transverse plane, and    -   wherein the optical centerline of the at least one lens is        substantially parallel to the calculated straight ahead line of        sight when a three dimensional configuration of the eyeglass is        positioned in an as-worn orientation on the wearer model.

31. An eyeglass comprising a frame, at least one lens having aprogressive lens power transition corridor, a left earstem, and a rightearstem,

-   -   wherein a wearer model corresponding to a three dimensional        model of at least a portion of a wearer's head defines a        plurality of lines of sight, individual lines of sight        corresponding to individual progressive lens powers, and    -   wherein the progressive lens power transition corridor of the at        least one lens is configured such that individual progressive        lens powers are aligned with the corresponding individual lines        of sight of the wearer when a three dimensional configuration of        the eyeglass is positioned in an as-worn orientation on the        wearer model.

1.-23. (canceled)
 24. A three dimensional orientationally correctedeyeglass comprising: a frame; at least one lens; a left earstem; a rightearstem; and a nonadjustable nosepiece, wherein the nosepiece comprisesbilateral asymmetry configured to complement a bilateral asymmetry of awearer's face, to position the eyeglass in a preselected orientationwith respect to the wearer's face.
 25. A three dimensionalorientationally corrected eyeglass as in claim 24, wherein at least aportion of the eyeglass conforms to a surface of a wearer modelrepresentative of a three-dimensional configuration of at least aportion of the wearer's head.
 26. A three dimensional orientationallycorrected eyeglass as in claim 25, wherein the wearer model defines acalculated straight-ahead line of sight crossing the center of a pupiland extending in an anterior-posterior direction along a horizontalplane parallel to the wearer model's central transverse plane, andwherein at least a portion of an eyeglass model representative of athree-dimensional configuration of the eyeglass is deflected, withrespect to a default configuration, when the eyeglass model is placed inan as-worn configuration on the wearer model such that the opticalcenterline of the lens is substantially parallel to the calculatedstraight ahead line of sight.
 27. A nosepiece for eyeglasses, thenosepiece having left and right dermal contact surfaces having a totaldermal contact surface area, wherein at least 85% of the total dermalcontact surface area conforms to the three dimensional configuration ofa corresponding surface of a wearer's nose.
 28. A nosepiece as in claim27, wherein at least 95% of the total dermal contact surface areaconforms to the three dimensional configuration of the correspondingsurface of the wearer's nose. 29.-35. (canceled)
 36. An eyeglasscomprising a frame, a first lens having a first optical centerline, anda second lens having a second optical centerline, wherein the firstoptical centerline and the second optical centerline form an angle of atleast 2 degrees when the eyeglass is in an undeflected state.
 37. Aneyeglass as in claim 36, wherein the first optical centerline and thesecond optical centerline form an angle of at least 15 degrees when theeyeglass is in an undeflected state.
 38. An eyeglass as in claim 36,wherein a wearer model corresponding to a three dimensional model of atleast a portion of a wearer's head defines a calculated straight aheadline of sight which crosses a center of a pupil and extends in ananterior posterior direction along a horizontal plane parallel to thewearer model's central transverse plane, and wherein the first opticalcenterline is substantially parallel to the calculated straight aheadline of sight when a three dimensional configuration of the eyeglass ispositioned in an as-worn configuration on the wearer model.
 39. Aneyeglass as in claim 38, wherein the angle formed by the first opticalcenterline and the second optical centerline is reduced by at least 50%in the as-worn configuration as compared to the undeflected state. 40.An eyeglass as in claim 38, wherein the angle formed by the firstoptical centerline and the second optical centerline is reduced by atleast 90% in the as-worn configuration as compared to the undeflectedstate.
 41. An eyeglass comprising a frame and at least one lens havingat least a first power and a second power, wherein a wearer modelcorresponding to a three dimensional model of at least a portion of awearer's head defines at least a first line of sight corresponding tothe first power and a second line of sight corresponding to the secondpower, and wherein the at least one lens is configured such that thefirst line of sight is aligned with a first portion of the lenscorresponding to the first power and the second line of sight is alignedwith a second portion of the lens corresponding to the second power whena three dimensional configuration of the eyeglass is positioned in anas-worn orientation on the wearer model.
 42. An eyeglass as in claim 41,wherein the at least one lens comprises a progressive lens powertransition corridor extending between the first portion and the secondportion.